Grief Consumes All
by TheTomFox
Summary: Jae O'Clery was an assassin. An assassin from her first breath, an assassin at her last. Her tragic tale experiences friendship, love... and betrayal. This is her story... This is my first FanFic so please rate fairly, constructive criticism appreciated. The writing greatly improves in later chapters. Now rated 'M' thanks to my real life friend Chad's ideas. Enjoy! Daily Updates!
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Sheamus O'Clery hauled to port on the wheel. HMS Firefly responded obediently. Being a veteran sailor of 25 years, Sheamus knew his way around a storm, but this was unlike he had ever seen before. Rogue waves smashed against the hull, wild winds forced him to constantly change direction to counter them and water spouts attacked them periodically. Even the most sure footed sailors lost their footing. One minute they would be heaving the rigging, and then a wave would soar over the railings and the sailor, only for the sailor to disappear, swept away into the seething ocean. But Sheamus was the helmsman. To lose him was to lose control of HMS Firefly. He had to hold on.

He went to his happy place. He thought of his daughter, Jae, only 4 years old. He couldn't think of losing her, or her losing him. He still hadn't told her of her heritage. Her mother couldn't bear to and he was away too much and never found the opportunity to tell her. He didn't want to. He didn't want her dragged into this mess. This was his and his wife's burden to bear. He wouldn't tell her...

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a large wave slamming into his chest. He glanced round the deck. So few men were now on-board that even the captain was on deck, lugging the rigging taut. Glimpsing around to see if he could spy a break in the storm, he spotted a red sail! No. It couldn't have been. He must have imagined it. But wait! There it was again. It was headed straight towards them, starboard side. He tensed up. 'Pirates!' he thought.

As the ship steadily got closer, he relaxed. He knew the markings, he knew the ship and he knew the captain. He signalled to the remainder of the crew, "Friendly ship ahoy! Starboard side!" The crew charged to the starboard so swiftly that for a fleeting moment, Sheamus feared they would keel the boat.

The storm began to subside. The waves became smaller and smaller and the winds were beginning to die down. As the friendly ship pulled alongside the Firefly, Sheamus gave the wheel to a less experienced sailor, who miraculously managed to remain on board during the storm, and Sheamus trusted him enough to hold the wheel steady whilst he spoke with his friend. Sheamus' friend leapt from the deck of his ship to the Firefly with ease, his cloth mask concealing the lower portion of his face.

"Come, come friend. There is no need for secrecy. You trust me, don't you?" Sheamus urged.

His friend remained silent as his men joined him on the deck of the Firefly, surprisingly heavily armed.

"We need timber to repair the damage done during the storm. Can you spare any?" Sheamus continued, trying to stay calm. His instinct kicked in. He and the crew of the Firefly were outnumbered by the other crew, 5 to 1. He and the crew also had no armour on and no weapons except their customary swords and the dagger that Sheamus carried with him where ever he went. He was thinking irrationally. This was his trusted friend and had been for many years. He would never do that. Yet his numbers and preparation for battle was indeed very menacing.

He had to tread carefully, something was amiss.

Before Sheamus could speak again, the masked warrior plunged his customary dagger into Sheamus' gut, not killing but mortally wounding him. Before the crew of the Firefly could react to the sudden strike against their helmsman, the masked warrior stabbed another through the heart and slashed another's throat. His crew swiftly killed the rest... except the captain. Being a veteran of many battles himself, he alone reacted quick enough to put up a fight. He engaged the masked warrior himself, the opposing crew not intervening in the deadly duel. The captain attempted an overhead slice at the warrior, utilising the rebound of his opponent's block to go for a side slice, but to his surprise, his opponent staggered back from the overhead blow and, seizing the opportunity, lunged forwards to run him through. At the last second, he realised his mistake. His opponent had tricked him. The masked man calmly stepped to one side and used his opponent's momentum to run him though himself. As the life faded from the captain's eyes, the hooded warrior approached Sheamus once more; Sheamus muttered "you cheating bas-" He was cut off as his throat was slashed open, his lungs flooding with his own blood as he breathed his last. His last thought was of Jae. Poor, poor Jae.

Finally, the hooded man spoke. "Leave the bodies where they are. They'll wash up somewhere." He ordered, his voice deep and gruff, with no remorse. He and his men returned to their ship. 'The Fox' sailed into the night, not one of the crew even glanced back at the now desolate 'Firefly.'

* * *

On that night, murders swept across the known earth. From the vast forests of early Russia to the hostile lands of the natives in colonial America, brother turned against brother. Men were found stabbed and abandoned in dark alleyways, some with their throats slit in their sleep, others dead at taverns with poison in their veins.

Many called these 'incidents' the 'war of extinction,' others called them the 'great betrayal.' Only one thing was certain anymore, trust no one. As a lowly farmer cannot trust a cattle thief, present no opportunity for treachery. It was these principles that led to the complete downfall of this faction that stretched their ranks so thin that were later removed from the history books altogether. This once great order became nothing more than a foot note in history. Now, they are only spoken about in tales and song, their meanings long forgotten. For history, they were gone. But deep in the gutters of the world that changed around them, they lived on.


	2. Chapter 1 - Abduction

**Chapter 1**

Jae O'Clery was now six years of age. It had been nearly two years since the 'HMS Firefly' had washed up on the shores of Ireland, over half the crew missing and the rest murdered, including her father. She was clueless at first, being only four years old, but by the time she was old enough to realise the significance of her father's murder, she had already come to terms with his death. Despite being signed by the royal navy, the ship 'HMS Firefly' was privately owned by its captain and as he had no family alive, the ship passed down to the family of the captain's second in command, the O'Clerys. Every day, Jae would run down to the local harbour master's hut to receive training on sailing the ship, just like her father before her, except for the fact that she was the captain, but she still wanted to be at the helm. Nothing could deter her from this goal. She was determined. Some days, the harbour master would assemble a crew of locals and they would take her ship to sea so that she could learn how to steer the ship for real and could practise giving orders to her crew. Bliss.

* * *

Jae O'Clery was ten years old and was already beginning to look like an older girl. Everyone commented on this change, but she hated it. She was a bit of a masculine girl and every time that she was invited by her friends to play with dolls at their house, she would refuse, stating that she would much rather play with wooden swords with the boys. She was beginning to be tall enough to use the wheel of her ship herself and was becoming quite the sea farer. She was mastering the arts of chart reading and navigation via the stars, though she found these lessons quite boring. She preferred practical tasks such as adjusting rigging and lowering and raising sails. But what she loved most was the open air of the sea. Nothing could stop her from enjoying a day when she got to sail her she on the open seas. Nothing, except from her eleventh birthday.

* * *

After a long day of sailing her ship, Jae couldn't wait to go home and taste her mother's delicious cake. Her mother always made the best cake. However, when she arrived home, a large crowd had assembled in front of her house, all with shocked faces, though she failed to notice this at the time. As she got closer to the house, people began to try to bar her path, but she easily slipped through. As she worked her way through the crowd to her front door, she realised why people had attempted to block her path. On the kitchen floor was her mother, dead. Two hooded people stood near the body. Jae felt as though she had just been stabbed with pure fire. She fell to her knees and wept over her mother. One of the hooded people gently picked her up and carried her away. She didn't care. She had lost everything. Her home, her family and anything else that had any sentimental value to her. Where ever they were taking her, she didn't care. She didn't care about anything anymore. As the hooded people carried her out of the house she saw one thing. The last thing that she would she of the house until she was much older, though she didn't know this at the time. On the counter, in the kitchen, was a half made cake...

* * *

Jae didn't have the faintest idea where she was. The hooded figures that escorted her from her house didn't utter a single word to her, or each other for that fact. It was as if everything had been planned out.

After escorting her from her house, the hooded figures took her to a dock somewhere by a rather tattered looking carriage. Where 'somewhere' was she didn't know as even though the carriage was old and worn-out, its windows were remarkably good at keeping her from seeing outside and every time that she made a move to move the curtains, a firm hand from one of the pair would deny it. Their reflexes were lightning fast, as if they were prepared to react to her actions before she had even thought of them. After arriving at the dock, they boarded a small brig named 'The Badger' and set sail immediately. Up high on the main mast, a flag hung, though from all her lessons with the harbour master, she did not know as to whom this flag belonged. It showed a strange symbol which, in the coming years would be very significant to Jae. She was quickly shoved below decks before she could find any details as to her current location. For three months Jae was kept below decks, food was brought to her cabin and her only source of fresh air came from a small hatch that served as a window. Two hooded figures were stationed outside her cabin to prevent her leaving, though these were different people to those at her house. They stayed back at the port when she boarded this ship. These new 'bodyguards,' as Jae liked to think of them, had a nasty habit of vanishing into the shadows when she wasn't looking at them, then re-appearing again when she tried to leave, though they were always there, she found that out when she first tried to escape. They simply walked out of nowhere, gripped her wrists and escorted her back inside of her cabin, firm but never harmful. Because of this, she felt truly alone and isolated.

Her only conversation came from the small boy that delivered her food. Horatio Munson was his name. He was roughly the same age as Jae, maybe slightly older, and whenever he arrived with her food, they would talk for about ten minutes, and then he had to leave. At the start of the voyage, he was there to comfort her, though as time progressed the conversations became much more general. Whilst he knew what was happening and where they were heading because he was to accompany her as his parents were also some of _them_, he was forbidden to tell her anything. He did not understand why. He thought that she had a right to know, but orders were orders and he did not understand the concept of adults and their secrets. To ensure his silence on those topics, a guard would be in the room when they spoke so he could prevent any details slipping, though the guard wasn't even necessary as they only spoke of things in general and most of the time, Jae forgot that he was even there.

* * *

Jae lost count of the days as they past, consumed in her own little world as she theorised her journey's end location, her mother's death and why her newfound friend, Horatio, would become nervous and evasive whenever she brought up the subject of where they were going or who the hooded people were. She had a feeling that he knew. But they often told each other secrets, so why not this one. It didn't make any sense. She pondered on these thoughts for quite some time, until she heard the call of the gulls and the yell of the lookout saying "Land ahoy! Land ahoy!"

As 'The Badger' drifted into port, Jae relished in the first gasp of fresh air that she had felt for a long time, she admired the pale blue sky of early morning and she divulged in the soft brush of wind at her back. These pleasures were short lived however as the deck of 'The Badger' was a flurry of activity. Sailors rushed to secure all manner of ropes and rigging as well shifting cargo on and off the ship. Passengers aboard the ship rushed onto the docks, as if they couldn't wait. 'They still need to sprout their sea legs.' Jae thought as she watched them intently. After a while, she noticed that no-one had told her where to go and the hooded individuals had vanished once again.

Panic began to rise in her throat as she was alone in a place that she did not know. Then she noticed Horatio on the docks, beckoning her over. She hurried over to him, dashing quickly due to the apparent urgency of his beckoning. Before she could question why he was so skittish, he seized her wrist and ran as fast as his legs could carry him. His hands were rough from constant work on the ship, yet his grip was weak. 'He must climb the rigging but not do much manual labour aboard the ship' she thought, before she saw the shadows chasing them.

She swiftly removed her wrist from Horatio's grasp before running at full speed to keep up with him. She had no idea that they were running so fast, but the shadows were faster... always gaining ground... we need to get to the rooftops she thought. That was their only chance.

* * *

Horatio knew what was happening. This was to be the first of a number of trials to test their strength, will and any other skills that they may possess that will help them in these dire times. He knew only what his father had told him, in confidence, about this trial... run. They would be caught in the end, it was inevitable, but the longer they evaded the masked warriors, the better life would be for them when their training truly began. He snapped himself out of his thoughts and cursed himself. Not only did he not know where he was (his father briefed him on the basic layout of the city prior to arrival) but he had also let Jae slip out of his grasp! Now parted, she would struggle to navigate the dense city and may stumble blindly into a narrow route wherein she is captured easily.

He was deep in a crowd now so he slowed his pace to fit in with the pedestrians surrounding him. Making no attempt to conceal himself in fear of exposing himself further, he thought of how he was going to complete his task and find Jae. He had learnt that this event could go on for days or simply a matter of hours, the record being three weeks and six days. If he could come anywhere near that time he knew that his father and mother would be proud. He smiled inwardly at himself. It was after these fleeting sensations of pride that he felt a hand on his shoulder. It could just be someone slipping through the crowd or it could have been one of his pursuers but he simply ducked below another man's arm. It was a test. It appeared natural, like someone in a hurry to get through the crowd, but it was in fact an escape as to follow someone in such a manner would place a high amount of attention on the follower, thus they would not follow as they wished to remain inconspicuous. Horatio reached a market stand and faked the examination an object for sale, a simple apple, to detach himself from the crowd in the hopes that his sudden change of interests went un-noticed.

A voice was heard behind Horatio saying "Unlucky son." and a chill went up Horatio's spine as he recognised the voice. Not only had he been caught in a matter of minutes, but by his own father no less. He wouldn't go down like this. He slowly breathed in and out, focusing his mind. In an instant, Horatio spun on his left heel and hurled the apple straight at his father's head.

The throw seemed un-naturally fast but Horatio's father simply caught the apple at arm's length with his left hand. "Now, now son, let's not be childish." he joked, lowering is left arm from in front of his face, only to see his son swinging his right fist at him! He blocked it easily, but Horatio swiftly hooked his right leg around his father's left leg. Pulling his right leg back towards him and pushing forward with all his might with his right hand, Horatio sent his father toppling to the ground, mesmerised that he had bested his very own father who was similarly stunned. Horatio had never been a strong child, but his speed was remarkable. The victory was short lived however, as his father was not alone. The crowd had dispersed at the signs of a fight, before the guards showed up to maliciously beat anyone thought to be involved based on assumption alone, which in turn revealed a number of masked and hooded warriors, homing in on their prey.

Fighting as best his abilities would allow him, Horatio was easily bested by the veteran warriors, his attack now lacking the surprise that had defeated his father. Most embarrassingly, it was a woman who eventually delivered the final blow, stopping the exhausted Horatio's relentless attempts of escaping the ring that they had now formed around him.

It was done. It was over. He had failed. He was captured.

* * *

Jae watched the entire scene unfold from the rooftops. She quickened her pace along the rooftops, but instead of turning tail and fleeing, she headed for Horatio and the cluster of hooded and masked warriors that now encircled him. He was now her only friend and she wasn't going to let him be taken away from her easy. She intended to continue along the rooftops until she was close enough to tackle one of them from above, who would subsequently break her fall. Just before her leap from the rooftops, a hand firmly clasped around her arm. The grip was stronger than a blacksmith's vice and about as rough as one too. Spinning on her heels, she faced her adversary, a tall and gaunt man who looked as though he knew everything but eyes that gave the impression of emitting pure hatred into the world. As they stared at one another, his eyes appeared to gaze into her very soul itself. He was different from the others below. The men and women below wore long, white, flowing robes. This man wore jet black cloth for clothing and his hood with a stark contrast of blood red highlights. While they fought using non-lethal attacks such as their fists, this man was branding his ornate dagger about such as how a cat plays with its food. She watched in fear as he drew his dagger above his head. She wanted to look away but her eyes would not allow her such peace. Her world faded to black as he brought the cruel dagger down in a vicious arc towards her. As she had almost completely blacked out, she heard a sudden ring of metal. 'Strange.' she thought, 'I thought I was made of skin and bone.'

* * *

Jae awoke to the splashing of water into her face. Taken aback, she squirmed and choked on nothing. It was then that she realised that the last thing that she remembered was being struck down by that mysterious man.

"_Almost_ struck down." A voice said from behind her.

Coming to the conclusion that she had accidentally voiced her thoughts and was not dead, she slowly turned and faced yet another man, wearing the same outfit as the faction that accompanied her and Horatio aboard the ship that brought her here, though this was the first time she had seen one with their hood down. This new man had snowy white hair tied back into a pony tail, a scar that trailed from above his left eyebrow to the middle of his left cheek, leaving his left eye blind, and resting at his waist in its own scabbard was a was a dagger similar to the mysterious man's only far less ornate.

Following her gaze down to his dagger, he commented "The others' are a lot more decorated than this. I just prefer simpler things than all of that _fancy _rubbish!" They laughed. "Where _are _my manners?" he chuckled, "Kyle Ramm, at your service." He bowed overdramatically.

"Jae O'Clery." she replied, barely suppressing a chuckle. She failed to notice the brief flash of sadness that washed over Kyle's face at the mention of her family name. Jae immediately took a liking to this man. In an odd way, she reminded him of the old harbour master back at her old home, grumpy to and about everyone and everything, except from her. She knew they were going to be good friends. He had made her laugh when she wanted nothing more than to curl up in a ball and cry.


	3. Chapter 2 - Chad and Will

**CHAPTER 2**

After several days of stalking his prey, the hunter honed in for the kill. His prey casually strolled through the gardens of his illustrious mansion, his magenta tunic billowing in the wind.

"Fine silks for a fine man" stated a British voice from further down the garden.

The prey responded, "There had better be truth in those words. These robes would not suit those peasants outside of my walls or those primitive natives beyond the British border." His Spanish accent was thick.

"It is the _American _border now. You would be wise to remember that. Being a Spaniard when the British were in power here was a risky business, but now these colonists have declared their independence its damn near suicide." the British voice stabbed back.

"You needn't worry. Those colonists need people like me to support them financially. They wouldn't dare challenge me." the prey commented. All of a sudden, a redcoat, a sight that was apparently across the Atlantic Ocean and no longer in the American colonies, strode up to the prey.

"Us." he snarled, his accent matching the British one that was formerly out of view. The prey instantly recoiled and raised his hands into the air as the redcoat brutally grabbed his throat. "Do not forget our deal." The redcoat warned before releasing the prey's throat and storming off in the direction that he came. As the redcoat marched around a corner and the prey inhaled precious air to his lungs, he found that he did not require them anymore. A dark shadow fell on top of him and an unseen blade pierced through his back.

The dark shape dragged the near dead man into a small alcove. The prey's eyes widened as he saw what had descended upon him.

"Y-you..." he stammered, "I-it was you. That mysterious blur that tailed me. The thief who stole my money. The brigand who held my trading wagons ransom. The murderer who killed my associates. I-it was you." The mysterious hunter grabbed the prey in the same fashion that the redcoat did, leaned in close and whispered,

"My name is Chad Davies and your life, Paquito Franco, is at a close." Life left Paquito's body with one long, last exhale of air. Chad rose from the now lifeless corpse and strolled out of the main gate, passing the large piles of guards left from his way in. Once started, his bloodlust would remain insatiable until another assassin calmed him down. One such assassin stood outside of the main gate, ready to restrain Chad if necessary. Unfortunately, a guard arrived late to his post and so happened to pass Chad and see the corpses behind the first gatehouse. Before the guard could even gasp in panic, Chad threw a throwing knife into the side of the guard's neck without so much as glancing up.

The other assassin immediately ran to Chad's side and, walking alongside him, asked, "Is the deed done? Is Paquito Franco dead?" All of a sudden, an ear-piercing scream broke the air.

"Does that answer your question?" Chad replied as he examined the mixture of blood covering his forearms.

"We had better leave." the assassin observed.

"Not yet, Will, there was a redcoat with him. He must die also." snapped Chad. Will saw in Chad's eyes the insane crimson glow that would only show itself when he hungered for blood. He would not be dissuaded now.

"Okay," Will conceded, "but I'm coming with you."


	4. Chapter 3 - Taking Ground

**Chapter 3**

The clash of metal on metal rang loud in the mansion as the practice yard was abuzz with guards practicing their techniques with a multitude of weapon types. From rapiers and sabre, rifles and muskets, down to pikes and bearded axes, over 50 guards engaged each other in mock combat when two figures approached the training yard from the main pathway.

"Our apologies gentlemen," Chad yelled, "Have we missed all of the fun?" Chad grinned like a madman. The small army of guards sprang into action. All those armed with a musket or rifle fell back and formed rapid firing lines, those with pikes hastily formed a wall of pikes to prevent charges against them or their ranged counter parts and the remaining guards charged towards the two assassins. Without breaking their stride, Will drew his massive axe and Chad pulled the hilt of a sword from the scabbard on his back, it's blade absent. The guards stopped and laughed at his apparent 'weapon.' Chad only continued to grin like a rage filled maniac.

"Almost forgot." he observed before giving his hilt a swift flick, causing two parts of a blade to flick out in circular motions and lock into position to form a solid sword. "Better." he said, "I present... the hidden sword!"

"You and your wacky inventions." Will noted as he rolled his eyes. The guards now stood stock still in shock.

"I think they like it too!" Chad and Will said in unison.

"How about a little field test?" Chad announced as he suddenly turned very serious as he dived forwards with William close behind him.

As the first volley was fired from the muskets Will slid behind the low wall of a raised flowerbed and Chad dove behind one of the mansion's support pillars as musket shot hit walls or thin air. Chad and Will began to close the distance once again as a second ripple of gunfire filled the air. The pair leapt into cover once again but Will wasn't quite fast enough as a musket ball bit into his lower leg and he grunted in pain, his face contorted. Before the next volley could sound, Chad ran next to Will to make sure that his friend was okay. Fortunately, the shot was clean. It hit him through and through, he would live.

To confront Chad when he was crazed for blood, which he personally dubbed 'Carnivore,' was damn near suicidal, but that seemed like a tickle compared to when he was angry. Chad dashed into the fray without an inch of concern about himself, leaving the injured Will behind cover to protect him. If Chad had to take on the entire mansion, he would. Examining the guards, anyone would think of the odds as fifty against one, whereas he saw the odds a one against one, fifty times over, easy. He was now within striking distance, so the musket men ceased to fire and affixed their bayonets. The guards promptly encircled Chad and all blades were pointed directly at him. The captain of the guard demanded his surrender and that he would drop his weapon. Chad flicked his blade back into its compact 'hilt' form and tossed it onto the floor. The guards all began to relax slightly as they sensed their victory, not one of them noticing Chad reach behind him and draw his bladed pistols, another invention of his. He smoothly drew both and took aim...

BANG!

It wasn't him that fired that shot...


	5. Chapter 4 - Shadow

**Chapter 4**

Chad went rigid. '_Strange_' he thought. It didn't hurt like he thought death would. He felt nothing. It was only when the captain of the guard fell first onto the floor that Chad realised that it was not him who had been shot. Seizing the initiative of the confusion, Chad slashed the two guards' throats that were to his left and right using the blades under the barrels of his pistols and dropped into a crouched position. He fired both of his pistols in front of him and scored a headshot with each. Another musket shot dropped a guard down dead. Chad saw that the shot came from the rooftops. A dark figure was perched on the roof of the mansion, clad in black with red highlights and inside. He gave Chad a quick salute when Chad glanced his way before standing up tall and running further along the roof. Chad, seeing that his 'hidden sword' was out of reach, instantly searched for any weapon within reach. He glimpsed Will's oversized axe lying in the distance with nought but two guards blocking his path. Rolling under one sword stroke and somersaulting over then second guard's slash, Chad picked up his friend's fallen axe and swung it blindly behind. He did not notice until Will pointed it out to him later that that blind swing actually decapitated both of the guards that Chad had to pass to get to the axe.

Chad saw no need for precision or finesse as Will's almost surreal axe cut through guards like they were nothing but smoke. Most assassins' despised Will's axe because the kill was sloppy and messy and not suited to their traditional assassination styles. They preferred weapons that created clean kills with precision and a certain delicacy. Chad didn't care for those things; if it drew blood it was good enough for him.

* * *

After overcoming all of the guards, Chad picked up his hidden sword and returned the huge axe to Will. Carrying his injured friend over his shoulder, Chad began to leave the mansion, his 'carnivore' satisfied. He needn't worry about the red coat; 'Shadow' would take care of him. Once 'Shadow' set his sights on something, nothing could stop him. Not much was actually known about him except that he was left on the doorstep of an assassin as a baby and raised into the order. He was the order's most effective warrior and rumour has it that he even bested the legendary mentor Connor Kenway when he was still a teenager and Connor was in his prime. Connor, now fifty, refused to speak about it and 'Shadow' spoke little in any situation. Shadow was a cold hearted killer and kept all feelings out of his life. Being an orphan, he had no trouble forming no emotional relationships. The only relation he established was predator and prey. One drunk accidentally revealed Shadow's name as 'Thomas' once and he walked into the tavern in the next morning with his tongue brutally ripped out. Shadow was definitely not a man to cross, even with an army at your back. Even Chad 'The Butcher' Davies feared him. He would get the job done, no questions asked…


	6. Chapter 5 - Breaking Out

**Chapter 5**

After several minutes of chatter, Kyle Ramm gave Jae a tour of his house whilst informing Jae of the assassins and Templars and their aims and methods of achieving those aims. He always made sure that he avoided mentioning that Jae's parents were one of these and about the 'Great Betrayal.' Things would become far too complex from Jae to comprehend if she knew everything that Kyle knew. He did answer her questions about Horatio though. About how his family had been assassins for seven generations and how he was beginning his training now so Jae knew she had some catching up to do.

* * *

It was early evening, when Kyle and Jae were just tucking in to supper that same day that a man came crashing through the door carrying an unconscious man over his shoulders. Jae was startled but Kyle leapt into action and swept everything off a different table onto the floor, then helped to ease the head of the unconscious man onto the table.

"What happened?" Kyle inquired whilst ripping a makeshift bandage off the wound.

"Musket ball to the leg. Through and through." Chad answered. Kyle ran upstairs to get a bandage when Chad finally noticed Jae. "Well hello there, cutie." Chad noted, "How does a pretty young thing like you wind up in a place like this? Maybe you should come over to my house. The bedrooms are huge, just like my p-"

"CHAD! DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!" yelled Kyle as he flew down the stairs and picked up Chad by the shoulders. "She's only ten years old! She probably does even know what it is your rambling on about!"

"Seriously?! She looks at least fourteen! Thanks for the warning. I promise I'll behave around her."Replied Chad, smiling weakly.

Calming down slightly, but still steaming mad, Kyle asked abruptly "What is going on with Paquito, kid?"

"He's dead, Shadow's hunting a redcoat that we saw meeting with Paquito and Mentor Connor is spreading the word that he thinks we should move in to Paquito's mansion now. I don't think he'll be using anytime soon."

"It's about time we established our presence here. Ever since the homestead was burnt to the ground we've not had a main base of operations. Remind me Chad, who's to blame for the homestead burning down"

"So just because my incendiary bomb experiment went south and caused the fire you all assume that it's _my_ fault. Typical!"

"Anyway, how are we securing the mansion? Who's doing what?"

"Mentor is organising the movement of everybody and the equipment, Shadow's going to forge new title deeds after he's dealt with the redcoat, and 'Black Cobra' is going to deal with the remainder of the guards. Lucky git!"

"The native?! He's dealing with the guards?! There's something strange about that man. Mark my words; he's hiding something from us. I don't trust him."

Kyle continued to dress William's wounds while Chad helped him and Jae fetched things for them, all the while trying to make sense of their conversation. '_Who was this Mentor and that Shadow? What did Kyle have against the native tribesman?_'

* * *

After Will had regained consciousness and he and Jae had been introduced to one another. Chad helped him limp outside to a waiting wagon while Jae and Kyle carried chests and boxes of supplies outside to the same carriage. After everything was loaded, the group set off down the dark street until they came across an illustrious mansion. The guards that Chad had encountered on his way in had now been replaced by hooded figures that dressed like him. As the carriage proceeded through the main gate and stopped at a grand staircase, two hooded figures made their way down the many steps to the wagon. The first figure, dressed like the other assassin's but with a muddy brown tone on his outfit in contrast to the stark white of the others and no sleeves exposing a large tattoo of a cobra on his right arm winding down from his bicep to the palm of his hand where the mouth of the cobra gaped open, offered his hand to help Jae down, then bowed a gently kissed her hand.

Smiling broadly, he said "I believe that is how your culture does it. Sohcahtoa, at your service."

"We call him the 'Black Cobra' after his tattoo that he has had before he joined the assassin's. Or sometimes Jason because its just easier." Kyle informed Jae as Sohcahtoa displayed his tattoo proudly.

"It's the last thing that most people see on this world." Sohcahtoa boasted.

"That man there is Shadow. Friendly piece of advice: do not agitate him." Kyle explained. Shadow wore the same outfit as everyone else but, like Sohcahtoa, instead of pure white it was jet black with red highlights, much like the man's that Kyle had saved Jae from on the rooftops. Jae gazed into the small gap between his hood and the cloth that covered the lower portion of his face, into his bright green and yellow eyes.

"How do you do?" Jae said courteously to Shadow, offering her hand. He simply grunted in reply, ignoring her hand.

"What did you do with the redcoat?" Kyle asked, turning his attention to 'Shadow.'

"Dungeons." Shadow stated with a rough gesture of his thumb.

"Right. Shall we get unloaded then?" Kyle suggested.

* * *

Chad and Sohcahtoa helped wounded Will into the mansion, leaving Shadow, Kyle and Jae to unload. As Jae lifted a heavy chest which she could barely lift with both hands, she fell backwards with the heavy chest following her. In a blink, Shadow was there, holding her up by the wrist with one hand and the chest with the other. Once again their eyes met as she peered into his green eyes and he stared into her dazzling blue eyes. Kyle didn't even notice what had happened until Shadow was helping Jae to her feet.

"Is everything alright?" Kyle asked. Jae and Shadow's eyes didn't break contact.

"Thank you." Jae muttered. Shadow simply grunted and nodded his head in reply. He then carried the chest effortlessly up the stairs in one hand, with an even heavier one in the other.

"You know Jae, I think he likes you." Kyle stated.

* * *

After the trio briefly explored the mansion, Jae wondered around exploring the mansion further. As she opened one such door, she saw someone's back which was covered with scars as he washed his face in a basin, his lower body clothing the only clothing that he continued to wear. The man was pale and lying on his bed was his black and red assassin robes. This was Shadow's room. She knew that she was not supposed to see this as Shadow's face would be seen if he turned around and Chad had once warned her that he had gouged a man's eyes out with a spoon because he had seen his face. Jae had become worried about what she was getting into at that point as Chad had looked as if he respected Shadow's actions when he told her the story, before Kyle reassured her and gave Chad an evil stare. Jae hastily pulled the door closed and covered her eyes as she imagined the gory scenes of Shadow chasing her with a spoon in hand.

As she rushed down the corridor, Jae glanced behind her only to collide with the bulking chest of Sohcahtoa. He caught her, mid-fall, and asked if she was alright. She nodded in confirmation and thanks, so he pointed down the corridor and told her that Kyle was looking for her. She thanked him again and set off down the corridor.

* * *

"You shall sleep here tonight. Tomorrow we'll introduce you to the other assassins and your training shall begin. Your friend from earlier, what was his name? H...Her...Hor...Horatio! That was it! He shall be your room-mate for now. Oh, and it's best if you don't... wander. There are some things that are not for your ears yet. Good night Jae..." Kyle wandered off down a long hallway before descending a grand staircase.

"What's the bet that she's getting out of bed tonight." came a voice from the darkness.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she's up and out already." Kyle whispered.

"Do you want me to bring her back?" the voice said.

"No. Just make sure she stays out of trouble."

"You have my word." The voice replied. Kyle was alone in an instant.

* * *

By the time Kyle had reached the end of the hallway, Jae had already arranged her pillows under her poor excuse of a blanket to look like she was asleep and was halfway out of the window. Being an experienced sailor, Jae had no trouble ascending the wall outside of her window. After making it to the roof of the mansion, Jae scampered across before vaulting over the large wall that separated the mansion and the city. Out of fear of being discovered by patrolling assassins, Jae darted from each corner of darkness to the next to avoid being seen.

After several minutes of scurrying down the dark and abandoned streets, Jae was convinced that no-one had seen her and no-one was tailing her. So she walked more freely. She still felt rejuvenated from her bath earlier and felt so normal wearing a skirt that a female assassin had let her borrow while the dress that she arrived in was cleaned that Jae finally felt like she truly belonged somewhere since she was taken from her home. Lost in her thoughts, Jae did not notice the encircling thugs as she passed a tavern.

"Oi Neil! Ain't that the pretty little thing the boss man was ranting on about? Didn't he say he wanted to speak with her?" one thug slurred drunkenly.

"Come here little birdie! The boss man only wants a _chat_." Jae now felt slightly more terrified than when that mysterious man caught her on the rooftops of the marketplace.

"NO!" a voice commanded from further down the street.

"What was that you said?" the thug named Neil demanded at the figure stood in the middle of the street.

"No." The figure repeated. As Neil began to waltz down the street, cracking his knuckles, he yelled.

"Okay then pretty boy! You want to dance? Then let's dance!" As Neil swung a crude left hook at him, Shadow placed his hands on the inside of his left elbow and the back of his left shoulder and used the momentum to slam Neil into a wall, knocking him out cold.

"You'll pay for that, scum!" another drunkard said, throwing his ale bottle at the now approaching Shadow. He calmly caught it in his right hand, without breaking his stride, took a swig of the contents before throwing it the twenty centimetres to the wall on his left, where it smashed into millions of tiny pieces.

* * *

Less than a minute later, all five ruffians were unconscious and Shadow took Jae into the tavern that the brutes had emerged from. Once several minutes of awkward silence of the pair sitting at a table had passed and they were certain no authorities were investigating the fight, Shadow and Jae set off back towards the mansion. Eventually, Jae worked up the nerve to ask

"Will you tell anyone?" She was taken aback when Shadow looked at her and calmly answered.

"No." Smiling with relief and becoming a little bit less nervous, she enquired

"You're not much of a speaker, are you?" to which Shadow countered with

"No."

She laughed and he gave an amused grunt as they strolled down the street and he took her arm in his own.

* * *

As Shadow helped Jae scale the twelve foot wall of the mansion with his hookblade, Chad could be heard in his room trying to perfect his poison bullets in the shape of a gaping snake for Sohcahtoa. He cut himself on the poisoned fangs and now stumbled around his room groggily, thankful that he had only used weak poison for the tests. At least he knew that the poison worked if the bullet failed. He then fell flat on his face on the solid stone floor, breaking his nose... again.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" could be heard everywhere in the mansion and maybe even the city beyond.

Jae snuck silently into her room, past the now asleep Horatio and into her bed, where she peacefully slept as her world was consumed by dreams. Little did she know that Horatio wasn't actually asleep and had been waiting for her for several hours. In the morning, he was going to snitch, under Kyle's orders…


	7. Chapter 6 - First Lessons

**Chapter 6**

Angry voices could be heard throughout the mansion the following morning. Kyle yelled at Jae for disobeying his orders to remain in her room as Mentor Connor Kenway stood calm and collected against a nearby wall, watching Kyle rage on with Horatio's evidence to back him up. Shadow was not present. Connor, Kyle and all of the other assassins knew that this was just a façade whereas Jae, Horatio and the other trainees believed that this was genuine. This exercise was meant to cause the assassin recruits to be cautious of one another so they would act more independently in the field. Kyle decided to give Jae a 'light' punishment for leaving her room: one hundred laps of the colossal mansion!

* * *

After returning from her run, Jae gave her face a quick wash in her room's personal basin, before setting off down to the main hall for breakfast. The main hall was a hive of activity as about fifty trainee assassins chatted to one another. Having missed half of it, she had to settle with the hard bread and cheese that remained. Gathering her breakfast on a plate, she walked over to a semi-busy table, sat down and began eating. A small group of both boys and girls joined her and they all began chatting about the most _normal_ things ever. About fifteen minutes later, Mentor Connor stood in front of the trainees and announced

"Students, I am Mentor Connor Kenway. Think of me as a headmaster of this mansion or _'school of assassins'_ if you wish. In the coming months you will be taught our ways. Some of you know who we are, others don't. You will be taught the ways of the assassin. Sohcahtoa, or Jason Kenway if you struggle pronouncing it-"

"Wait, you two are brothers?!"Someone announced, surprised.

"Half-brothers!" Jason replied.

"Anyway," Connor resumed, "Jason will be teaching you the ways of the apothecary, Shadow will be teaching you the art of the unseen and as the teacher of combat, William Spencer, is currently out of action, your lesson will be taught by-" He was cut off as a man fell past the large arch window at the rear of the hall. Chad's head then popped up from the other side of the window exclaiming

"OOOWWWW!"

"Chad Davies." Connor finished after sighing deeply.

"Morning all." Chad groaned, "Did anyone save me any cake?" At this point, another assassin named Lauryn Greene strode up to Chad and after staring at him for a second, slapped him hard across the face, exclaiming

"You knob head!" before revealing some cake from under her cloak.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Chad cried, "It's the most beautiful cake that I've ever seen!" Lauryn struck him hard across the face again before turning and leaving.

While all of this was happening, senior assassins had been whizzing around the tables, handing out letters. A red seal with a strange symbol, the same symbol that Jae had seen on the flag of the ship that brought her here, the symbol of the assassins, sealed the envelopes shut. Inside was a letter which repeated everything Connor had said at the front, plus the fact that all those who showed advanced skills and dedication would be given advanced lessons by him. Below that was a personalised timetable. Jae saw that her first lesson was in five minutes and it was 'basic combat' in the drill yard.

* * *

Arriving a few minutes late, Jae rushed to join the large group in hopes of not being noticed but luckily the teacher had not arrived yet. All of a sudden the crowd ran back the way Jae had come as a mask-wearing figure burst out of the bushes in front of them, wildly swinging weapons. As the congregation screamed, Chad laughed as he pulled off his mask.

"Lesson one, students, always expect the unexpected." As he said this, Lauryn appeared out of nowhere and slapped him hard across the face. "I did not see _that_ one coming" Chad exclaimed. He quickly organised the rabble into pairs and asked each student to collect one weapon from the weapon rack and this would be their own weapon to keep and do with it what they will. This meant keeping it polished and sharp. Jae was partnered with a young brunette named Layla Emerald Miller who appeared only half a year older than her. Chad collected the weapons and then handed out wooden versions of the weapons that they had picked. He then announced

"Your partner is now your team-mate. The teams that get through this five hour exercise are the winners. Striking a 'fatal' blow will result in elimination from the challenge. Don't _actually_ kill one another, _please_. If you '_die,' _return here with your weapon sheathed. Other than the other teams, I too will be hunting each of you. Defeating me will result in the ringing of the bell in the mansion's bell tower, signalling the end of the exercise and we are to meet here. Best of luck. Now, run!"

* * *

All at the same time, the pairs ran in different directions to escape one another and their apparently insane and childish tutor. Surprisingly agile, Layla leapt up one of the mansion's pillars, scaling it with astonishing speed and elegance, compared to Jae's rough, basic climbing skills, though she managed to keep up. On the roof, they watched the other trainees that were stupid enough to stay behind, fighting in the courtyard. They mostly struggled to beat each other into submission, though Chad was knocking them down left and right with his heavy French bastard sword, without taking even a single hit in return. After declaring the final student staying in the yard 'dead,' Chad looked up at the rooftops and spied Jae and Layla, crouched down low and watching him. He charged up the side of the mansion, only for Jae and Layla to have completely disappeared. He did not see them slip behind a chimney stack to his left.

"Where in the devil did they go? They can't be far." He said aloud. By pure chance, he leaned against the chimney stack that Jae and Layla hid behind, pondering their location. "They can't be far. I can smell them. Especially that Jae O'Clery. She seriously needs a shower."

"Hey!" yelled a shrill voice from behind the chimneys. Deep in thought, Chad mistook it for a bird call and climbed down from the roof in search of the others.

By the time Chad had reached the ground, Jae and Layla were pouncing on another pair. Layla landed perfectly on her opponents back and aimed to hold her wooden rapier against his throat from behind. Unfortunately, her opponent was a six foot lump of muscle known as Liam Cowman. Some people would whisper insults behind his back, though no-one dared say any to his face. He threw Layla over his shoulder like a rag and held a bearded training axe to her throat; her wooden training rapier lay on the floor a few meters away. Jae's landing was clumsy at best. Her target slipped to the side and she had to roll in the opposite direction. After regaining her feet, Jae assumed a fighting stance with her claymore sword poised ready above her head. It was at this point that Jae and her target's distinguished each other, as Horatio drew his practice hatchet...

* * *

Horatio had been partnered with the huge brute Liam by Chad and when Chad gave the order to commence, Liam took off with surprising speed for his build, though Horatio had no trouble keeping up. After several minutes of running, they assumed that they were safe for the most part and began slowly walking and talking. They gradually began to learn more about themselves and became fairly good friends. Yet their friendship was much like Chad and Shadow's, born out of mutual respect rather than generally getting-along. The pair's conversation caused them to lower their guard and so when a shadowy figure plunged from above onto Liam's back, they were caught off guard. Fortunately, Liam's strength helped him throw the would-be 'assassin' over his shoulder and Horatio half side-stepped out of the path of his foe. Seeing who it was, he drew his wooden hatchet that Chad had given him for the exercise...

* * *

As Jae and Layla leapt from the rooftops, Shadow watched from a nearby window and nodded with satisfaction. His class now lay everywhere from where he had beaten them because they could not reach him un-noticed. The girls' jump was very good, if a little bit flawed, but it showed great potential. Their landing was sublime except from the fact that Layla did not press the advantage of surprise and had rushed to take Liam out early and now she was in a bad position. Jae, however, displayed admirable landing technique as she missed her mark but rolled out of it and into a fighting stance perfectly. He would have to keep an eye out for this girl. As he watched the pairs begin combat, one of his crafty students re-attempted to slink up on him, Shadow exclaimed "Don't even think of it Mickey." without so much as removing his gaze from the window. _'This is going to be interesting..._'


	8. Chapter 7 - Firefly

**Chapter 7**

As Liam was about to strike Layla down with his axe, a lithe figure intercepted its brutal arc with the shaft of its spear. It didn't stop the blow but it knocked it off course, saving Layla. The wielder of the spear was a young boy named Ernie Edwards. His team-mate had been 'killed' in the initial melee. Liam had a clear strength advantage and obviously had potential to learn the elegance of the assassin ways, but Ernie was as fast as lighting with reflexes like a cat. Liam's blows would crush Ernie if he could hit Ernie. _If_ he could hit Ernie. Liam would launch incomprehensibly solid blows against Ernie, but Ernie would duck, dive and roll out of its path and crack the spear shaft on Liam's head, though he barely staggered or riled from the blows. Both of them were thrust onto the defensive as Layla launched a devastating attack her rapier thrusting and slashed with superb precision.

* * *

A few metres away, knocking could be clearly heard as wood clashed with wood as Jae and Horatio were locked in heated combat. Jae's two handed strokes were masterful yet she could not compare to the speed of Horatio and his wood hatchet.

"Why did you snitch on me?" Jae yelled as she delivered a shattering overhead strike.

"I was under Kyle's orders!" Horatio retorted as he smoothly stepped out of the way.

"Wait, what? Kyle knew? Then why did he need you to snitch?" she realised, lowering her Claymore sword.

"You know, I never thought about it like that before." He replied, lowering his own weapon as he eased into becoming slightly less hostile. Coming to the conclusion that they had both being duped into blindly fighting one another, they continued to fight one another but with less aggression than before. They would formally reinstate their friendship back in their room after classes. For now they would try to avoid one another as much as possible. Out of nowhere, Chad charged forward and took on Liam himself, one on one. This left Layla fighting Horatio and Jae fighting Ernie as the girls switched places. The battle between Jae and Ernie was a dance of rhetoric death as they leapt back and forth, slashing and stabbing. Alas, the grand finale came as Ernie missed as step and Jae's wood version of a Claymore sword pressed against his throat.

"Dead!" she declared, as he bowed his head in submission. Nearby Layla had bested Horatio and so she and Jae ran from the heated combat between Liam and Chad. Though Chad could easily defeat Liam with his clear speed and experience advantage, he decided to see how Liam would react under pressure. As he predicted, Liam quickly became stressed and aggravated, his rage causing him to leave his defences wide open in favour of desperately trying to land a hit on Chad. Chad used this to his advantage and made his 'death' as painful as possible. He rolled under Liam's swing and thrust his sword between his second and third ribs before twisting his wooden blade and removing his practice French bastard sword. Liam's eyes watered with the pain as the hulking mass of muscle dropped his weapon collapsed, whimpering in pain. His vision was blurred from the pain and the tears as Chad declared, almost sadistically,"Dead!" Once again Lauryn materialised out of apparently nowhere and slapped Chad hard across the face.

"You're not meant to harm the students! Save your stupid _'carnivore'_ for the Templar scum!" And with that she stormed off in a hostile mood, muttering incoherently. Chad looked up to see Layla standing before him in a ready stance, her rapier pointed towards him. He charged towards her with his sword held close to his waist. Layla lower her rapier and smirked which caused will to pause uncertainly. 'Where was the other one?' he thought before a claymore slid under his armpit and the phrase 'dead' was whispered in his ears by a rather smug Jae. Chad threw his training sword to the floor in frustration knowing that he had been outsmarted by two pre-teen girls and stormed off to ring the bell in defeat. _'Damn it!'_ he thought _'I now owe Shadow ten shillings!'_

* * *

After Chad had rung the bell in dismay, the students had gathered in the drill yard, congratulated Jae and Layla, and Chad had dismissed them, they all realised that they had over an hour of free time left before next lesson began. All the students except Liam Cowman that is, as he was currently getting his bruised ribs treated by Jason Kenway and his herbal remedies. Only Jae realised that if they had only an hour left until their next lesson, then had Chad planned to over-run. If so, how did the other tutors feel about that; if they knew at all? She wasn't going to complain about it though as she was still settling in. The last thing that she wanted was Chad hunting her down, especially after seeing Liam's face grimaced in pain. She followed her new friend Layla and all of Layla 'upper-class' friends. Luckily Layla convinced her friends that Jae wasn't bad for a _lower_ class person, though her nickname in the group was still 'peasant.' She didn't mind though; it wasn't harmful, it was just friendly banter.

* * *

After about half an hour of introductions and gossip in the library, Shadow walked in and strode over to the girls. Stopping just shy of them, he called "Jae" in his deep gruff voice before gesturing her to follow him with his head. They walked out of the library and kept walking and walking and walking. Shadow never said a word, leaving Jae to ponder as to why they were making this little journey. When the pair walked outside, Jae noticed a private dock within the mansion where several ships were tethered. Marching in that direction, Shadow finally spoke.

"I saw you in Chad's exercise earlier. The way you moved was strangely familiar. I checked your file." He said as his presented her a small piece of parchment from a pouch on his assassin's robes. "It said your father was a sailor," he continued, "aboard HMS Firefly. After his death and the owner's it was entitled to you." Jae was confused about this subject. What did it matter if she was entitled a ship that she was almost certain she would never see again? Seeing this confusion, Shadow continued. "We made off with a ship in Ireland shortly after you left." He pointed at the horizon. To her surprise, she saw a small ship cresting the horizon, but there was no mistaking the sails.

Jae muttered to herself, "Firefly."

* * *

As HMS Firefly slid into the mansion's private dock, a familiar face was at the wheel. It was her old friend, the quartermaster, though now he wore the distinct robes of the assassins. Jae squealed in delight at seeing such good old friend of hers and her precious ship so she leapt into Shadow's arms, over the moon.

"I love you, I love you, and I love you!" she shrieked.

Shadow had been trained to withstand any blow and had spent all of the 24 years of his life honing his reflexes, but he was caught off guard by the emotional bundle of joy that consumed Jae as she leapt into his arms and sent both of them tumbling into the icy waters of the ocean. Shadow caught Jae in one arm and reached up and placed his free hand onto the edge of the dry-dock.

"You okay?" asked Shadow as Jae spluttered a 'yes.' He used his strength to lift Jae up onto the dock before climbing up himself.

"I'm sorry." Jae said solemnly.

"Here." Was Shadow's only response as his took off his cloak and draped it over her shoulders. She held it close as she shivered and spluttered.

"Not to worry, I've brought plenty of your old clothes with me. They're in the captain's cabin. You should go and change into something dry. I'll see that you're not disturbed." Spoke the quartermaster with a voice like gravel. Jae was so ashamed. She felt like a little child.

As soon as the quartermaster and Jae were out of earshot, Chad called out to Shadow "A bad day to wear white, eh Shadow!" Shadow charged at him with such speed and aggression that Chad fled as fast as his feet would carry him. He thought to himself _'why is Shadow so protective of Jae? What was so special about her?'_ Chad continued to run until he was out of the mansion and somewhere on the opposite side of the city. Night had fallen by now, he was certain that he'd lost Shadow, but the man was practically a ghost. He ran down another series of alleyways and found himself facing a blank wall. It wasn't even scalable. As he turned to re-trace his steps, he was greeted with a large gang of characters who were obviously Templars blocking his path. Launching and diving, spinning and stabbing, and punching and slashing, Chad took down over two thirds of the gang before he was caught out by one gang member cracking right hook. He slumped in the alleyway corner, his vision swimming. _'Well that was fun.'_ One part of him thought. Another part of him thought _'a bad time to not go carnivore...'_


	9. Chapter 8 - Angels and Demons

**Chapter 8 – Angels and Demons**

As Chad lay in the gutter, the band of Templars drew their swords and slowly padded forward.

"Any last words?" the one at the front of the group called out._ 'Think of something cool to say!'_ Chad's brain yelled. All he could do was mutter incoherently. _'Something! Anything! Even if it's gibberish!'_

"Fus ro Dah!" Chad bellowed randomly. Somehow, his gabble sent the men flying backwards and they sprawled about street floor. Chad sat up and observed the group, staring in disbelief at the power of his own voice. He checked his left: a boarded up window, a prowling cat, an empty barrel and shattered ale bottles. He checked down the street directly in front of him: a blazing torch, the glowing moon, a shadow, the unconscious or dead (he couldn't tell and he didn't care) bodies of the Templar gang and a tri-horn hat. He checked his right: a series of bent nails and screws scattered on the floor and what appeared to be congealed blood.

"This is definitely a rough part of town." He said. _'Wait, wait, wait, wait. A shadow?'_ he reflected. He stared down the street again, this time more focused. "That's not _a_ shadow; that's _the_ Shadow!" he told himself. True enough, Shadow was sat patiently on an unused barrel. "Shadow!" Chad called "Did you see the way that I sent those men flying- with my voice!"

"Not with your voice, with these." Shadow replied calmly. It was only then that Chad noticed Shadow spinning a rope dart in his right hand. "You went down too easy. There was only five." Shadow informed Chad.

"I counted ten!" Chad shot back, to which Shadow replied calmly.

"Nope. Five."

"Well the one with the squashed face and the crooked nose, the one that put me on my arse, he has, or rather _had_, a solid right hook" Chad answered back, laying emphasis by placing his hand on his dully aching lower jaw and shifting left and right.

"Speaking of which-" Shadow said. The next thing Chad's saw was Shadow's left (strongest) fist ploughing straight for his face at lightning speed before his world faded to black. All he could he was Shadow's voice echoing in the darkness _'This is for Jae... this is for Jae... this is for Jae...'_

* * *

Chad awoke early the next morning with Lauryn and Sohcahtoa by his side. Stretching and yawning loudly, he told them "Damn! That Shadow's punch has some _kick _to it! HA!"

Not responding to the jest, Sohcahtoa informed him that "Shadow took a chunk out of the wall behind you, not a chunk out of your face. Otherwise, there wouldn't be much of you left for him to carry back here, would there."

"Wait, so you're saying Shadow missed?!" This time it was Lauryn who told him.

"He didn't miss. He planned to hit the wall behind you as a warning shot so you wouldn't continue to make jokes aimed at Jae, but you fainted before he even hit the wall, let alone threatened you." At this news, Chad looked away in shame, but noticed a cake left on his bedside table.

"Ooh!" Chad squealed in delight. And after that moment, all of Chad's aches and pains faded away instantly.

* * *

On the opposite side of the mansion, in a small study, Jae knocked on Mentor Connor's door.

"Come in." he beckoned from within. Jae timidly entered and closed the door behind her.

"Mentor Kenway..." Jae began.

"Please. Call me Connor, child."

"_Connor_," she continued, "I just want to know, why are Shadow and Chad... well... like they are?"

"An interesting question. Everyone had angels and demons inside of them. Did you know this? Most people choose to ignore their demons and embrace their angels, but not Chad and Shadow. Chad tamed his demons and every once in a while he releases them, or so he says. I'm sure you've heard him bragging about that _Carnivore_ of his. Either way, he allows his demons to consume him for the fight, before suppressing them again at the end so he doesn't end up killing all of us as well. But Shadow..."

"Yes?"

"If 'The Butcher' tamed his demons, then Shadow conquered his." Connor gave Jae a moment to process what he had just said. Yet she still has more questions to ask.

"So if Shadow conquered his demons, why does he not use it in battle like Chad, but rather only allows it to defend me."

"Shadow has more demons than most people and he cares about you, child."

"But why-"

"Enough questions. You have classes and I have a brotherhood to manage." With this, Jae said a quick goodbye before walking away and closing the door behind her, timidly. Not once had she noticed Shadow sat silently in a chair in the corner of the room near the door.

"Do you think I should have told her?" Connor asked him. He simply shook his head slowly. "She has a right to know!" Connor countered. Shadow rose in fury.

"If she is going to find out then I will tell her myself! First, let her settle in! She may not take this well!" he roared at Connor, before muttering "You'd know what it is like if you were her godfather..."

* * *

Later that day, Jae was stood aboard HMS Firefly, showing off her small 6th rate ship of the line to her newfound friends. They stared at every nook and cranny in awe. "Jae!" the old quartermaster hollered. "Jae, I am old and I don't have many years left. I think you need to appoint a new 1st mate if you plan on using this old bird." Jae nodded in solemn confirmation. "Now go on. Off you go. Carry on bragging to those friends of yours." He grinned, showing his collection of crooked and missing teeth. Jae wandered back to her friend's as one of the 'snooty' ones, Carla Southers, whispered

"...but that one over there is bigger. 'The Wolf.'" Carla was caught off guard by Layla lightly smacking her in the back of the head and then Jae calmly responding to her.

"That as may be, you know nothing about ships when I do. For example, that is Shadow's ship. It's a fourth rate ship of the line whereas mine is only a sixth rate. My ship has twenty eight 'nine pounder' guns on a single gun deck when Shadow's has a total of sixty guns on two gun decks which are a mixture of twenty four-, eighteen- and twelve-pounder guns." Everyone's jaw dropped at Jae's advanced knowledge of ships. They dropped further still when Jae said "But my ship is lighter so is faster and more manoeuvrable. The grisly quartermaster nodded in agreement as he and Jae's parents had taught her all that she knew about ships. For the second time in since she'd been 'adopted' by the assassins, Jae felt proud. She felt at home.


	10. Chapter 9 - Father of Understanding

**Chapter 9 - The Father of Understanding**

A single flaming torch lit the small room which was little more than a cave with an altar in the centre. A chant of the phrase "May the Father of Understanding guide us." filled the room as figures clad in cloaks and hoods stepped into the torchlight, their faces remaining concealed. One figure raised his hand and the chanting stopped.

"Brothers," the voice called, "I'm sure you've all heard the tragic news of Paquito's death and the occupation of his mansion by the vile _assassins._ Once again, the one they call _Shadow_ has proved his skill and denied us multiple resources." A murmur of agreement came from the surrounding individuals. Once again, the apparent leader of the group raised his hands for silence. "Whilst Paquito was not one of us, the redcoat that was meeting with him was one of our web of informants. We do not know if he lives or if he died, but no such body has been has been found. That _Shadow _is also cunning with gold as he has also bought out two thirds of our merchants in the market near the mansion, and he threatened the remaining third to stay away."

"He must be stopped!" cried one voice.

"Ambush him at the market!" yelled another.

"Slit his throat in his sleep!" shouted a third voice. The leader raised his hand for a third time, but this time the silence did not come. He nodded to the slim man on his left and an ear-bursting roar escaped the slim man's lips.

"QUIET!" he bellowed, and the room fell silent. All eyes were fixed on the man. The leader calmly resumed.

"Even shadows fear darkness. We may have just found out that the young girl Jae, that we have been trying to convert back onto our side of righteousness and truth, who the assassins have tricked into their order, is very important to Shadow. If we get Jae, we get Shadow."

"I have been trying for some time. My hired gangs go missing or scarper into the night with all the gold they can carry when they try to capture her. It's fruitless!" complained one figure. The slim marched up to him and lifted him a full foot off the ground by his collar.

"Or perhaps it is you who is the real coward. Not your pathetic excuse for gangs." the slim man informed him.

"Peace, brother." the leader said, "We will not send gangs after her this time. This time... we go ourselves. May the Father of Understanding guide us."

"May the Father of Understanding guide us." the others chanted, before the torch was extinguished.

* * *

"As you approach the edge of the roof, throw your body weight forward and extend your arms! Open your hands and grab hold of the ledge as soon as you feel it connect with your hands!" Shadow was giving the new recruits a brief lesson on free running before setting the group off over the rooftops. It was a sight to behold as around fifty assassins leapt and somersaulted between rooftops with Shadow leading the way. Fortunately for the young assassins, no-one noticed them. _'How seldom people look up.'_ Jae thought as she leapt and bounded over alleys and side streets.

Abruptly, Shadow stopped in his tracks and held up his left fist to call for a halt. Something was wrong. As the half of the group that was trailing behind caught up, Shadow walked over to the edge of the rooftops and peered over the edge whilst crouching down low. After several minutes of searching the crowd below, he spotted what he was looking for, a large group of people staring right at him. The one at the front wore a white shoulder cape, bearing the infamous red cross of the Templars...

Shadow rose slowly from his perch and gazed at the exhausted students panting raggedly. Locating Jae at the front of the crowd, he gave a single instruction to the group but mostly with her in mind.

"Run." In the next instant, Shadow had leant backwards and was plummeting down to ground level, head first, as the first gunshot sounded in the street below. The crowd scattered as the man at the fore of the Templar band holstered his flintlock and the others unholstered their air-rifles, an updated version of the legendary Shay Patrick Cormac. More silent, more accurate... more deadly. The trainees forgot their fatigue and bolted over the rooftops, headed towards the safety of the mansion. Only Jae felt any concern about Shadow, though part of her knew it should be the Templars she should feel concerned about with Shadow on the case.

* * *

The world slowed and narrowed as Shadow dropped headfirst towards the ground. Him and his target. That was all that mattered. Predator and prey. He drew his musket from a holster on his back and aimed. He breathed in. He breathed out. He felt the roughness of the wooden underside on his fingers, the cold metal of the trigger... and the recoil as the gunpowder exploded in the firing chamber, propelling a small musket ball forward. The man with the shoulder cape staggered backwards as the musket ball tore through one eye and his brain before exiting the rear of his skull. A perfect upside-down headshot. The whole performance lasted less than two seconds.

Shadow flipped midair to land lightly on his feet, holstering his musket again and drawing his heavy French bastard sword from it shoulder sheathe. _'Folly to ambush me.'_ Shadow thought. In an instant, Templars flooded into the marketplace.

"Shit! Another day in downtown Boston." Shadow exclaimed. At least fifty to one hundred men and women now faced Shadow. He charged forwards with his sword in one hand and a fistful of throwing knives in the other. Blades whizzed through the air towards the counter charging Templars, finding their marks in throats and chests alike. And then Shadow crashed into the sea of Templars. He was raft of death upon an ocean of despair as weapons of many varieties endeavoured to cut him down. It never occurred to him that the move was a feint, that he was not the true intended target. The slim man slipped away from the fighting and followed the retreating younglings. He saw an opportunity as they stopped to catch their breaths, unaware that they hadn't yet escaped the fighting.

* * *

His target strolled over to the edge. He had seen the young Jae before but the distance blurred the trainees' faces. He heard one girl taking command when they first began fleeing, and so the young girl by the edge must be her as she was yelled at the top of her lungs "Move it! We're not safe yet! We need to get back the others and warn the others!" As the student started forward again, the slim man lined up his shot and fired.

* * *

The last thing that she felt was numbing sensations consume her body. The last act of her dying arms was to yank a thin dart from the side of her neck. Her words stopped in her throat before she could call for help, her arms fell useless at her sides and her legs crumpled beneath her. Darkness swarmed her vision and the last thing that she felt was falling... falling...

* * *

**Hey guys and gals, just thought I'd let you know that there won't be a part next week as I'll be on work experience (sorry Chad), so I'll leave you on this cliff hanger.**

**As always, please read and review. You thoughts really meant a lot to me.**

**I'll see you guys next time ;-)**


	11. Chapter 10 - Ambush

**Chapter 10 – Ambush**

Eventually, as every man does at some point, Shadow became tired. Every muscle in his body ached from his sword arm down to his feet as a result of them dancing Shadow away from heavier blows that even he wouldn't be able to sustain. His left hand was slippery from the sweat that now covered it and the hilt of his sword, as with his brow. Blood ran freely over his face, some stinging his right eye. He also had a selection of new scars to add to his growing collection. He had been fighting for a good half an hour, yet he was not alone.

* * *

When the fighting first began, Shadow was pushed back from the seething sea of Templars clutching his rapidly bleeding left arm, sliced at the inside of the elbow. A meagre group of nine Templars approached the wounded assassin, maintaining a healthy distance of around twenty meters.

"Surrender, _assassin,_ and you may yet leave with your life!" called the one at the fore of the group. Shadow laughed audibly and bit back.

"Surrender? Why would I surrender when I'm winning?" The entire crowd of Templars scoffed and laughed.

Yells of "Yeah right! If that's true then I'm king of France!" and "Is he mad?" filled the air.

* * *

Nearby, a loving couple were browsing an abandoned apple stall, the only two civilians remaining in the marketplace after the arrival of the Templar horde. The man wore the typical tailored suit of a wealthy man, more than likely the owner of a printer shop or two. The woman wore a knee length black and red dress which also radiated upper class wealth. She wore a hood. The male of the pair looked over his shoulder at the scene. He calmly whispered to his female counterpart,

"Sorry Ruby Rose, but I have got to go. I'll talk to you later." With this Ruby ran down a nearby alleyway as the man ran in the opposite direction, towards the small group of Templars, apple in hand. He jumped into the air less than five meters from the meagre gang of Templars and the apple in his hand exploded mid-air, revealing itself as a smoke bomb. Chad emerged the other side of the black smoke, wearing his assassin gear with his hidden blade poised to kill. His blade pierced the neck of the lead Templar, severing the carotid artery and denying his head any oxygen-rich blood needed to live. The Templar gargled on his own blood as it flowed into his lungs and his mouth, sickeningly, before his legs lost their strength and buckled beneath him. The distinct whirr of Chad's hidden sword spilt the blood of another before the Templars could even react, and then its sharp edge split the skull of a third. Two of Shadow's throwing knives hit another pair, reducing the small group's numbers to four. However they were now aware of Chad's presence as so the remainder of the group pointed their bayonets at Chad whilst the remnants of the main host fixated their muskets towards Shadow, ready to fill him with lead should he make a wrong move. He had to tread carefully: he was on thin ice.

"Hey Shadow!" Chad called. "Fus Ro Dah!" He grinned broadly. Shadow nodded in understanding as Jason somersaulted over him and charged the four Templars. Shadow slid two of his rope darts from up his sleeves to the two Templars in front of Chad in one fluid motion. Heaving hard on the rope darts after they embedded themselves in shoulders, Shadow sent them sprawling forwards. Pushing themselves to their hands and knees, Jason used the pair of crouched opponents as springboards to propel himself forwards to the other two. Musket balls hit thin air as Chad sat down, Shadow dived out of the way and Sohcahtoa somersaulted, throwing four of his throwing knives while upside down. He killed the four Templars with that one move. Chad applauded whilst nibbling on an apple, or maybe it was another smoke bomb.

* * *

Shadow snapped out of the flashback just in time to block an over head blow from an old sabre. He quickly dispatched his adversary before crying aloud "Shit! Jae!" He took off down an alleyway headed for the mansion. After several twists and turns, Shadow came across a sight that made his heart bounce into his throat. A slim man perched over the lifeless corpse of a young girl. He knew the slim man. He wore jet black assassin robes with scarlet highlights. His face was gaunt. A rage consumed Shadow that had no limits. Chad's _carnivore _seemed like child's play compared to Shadow's inner demon that now possessed his soul. He swung a furious overhead blow at the slim man, but he was wounded and slow. The slim man caught his sword hand mid-strike and gave Shadow a powerful kick which sent him into a nearby wall. The slim man held him up by the throat and repeated punched Shadow in the stomach with all of his might. Shadow was even more battered and bruised when the slim man released his grip. Shadow crumpled to the ground, falling in and out of consciousness and the masked soldier held his hidden blade against Shadow's throat. Shadow felt the cool steel edge of the blade and the vague trickle of blood running down his chest. Shadow was stunned in disbelief as the slim man grinned maniacally and retracted his hidden blade, and strolled away from the grievously wounded Shadow, leaving him in the gutter to die...

* * *

Chad and Sohcahtoa easily mopped up the remainder of their adversaries, who either fought and died or fled the scene with all haste. The city watch had arrived on scene at this point, forcing the pair of assassins to make quick their escape because of the second rule of the assassin's creed: stay your blade from the flesh of the innocent. But even the amazing Jason struggled to hold back Chad's fiery bloodlust. Then, something strange happened. Chad lost all of his energy, as if he had been sedated, and Chad later swore that he saw the snake on Jason's arm move and felt a pricking sensation where the snake's head met his body, just before getting tired all of a sudden. The pair fled towards the mansion, and prayed that Shadow had made it back safe. Even Chad was covered in blood; his and his enemies. But Jason didn't have a scratch on him. Something was wrong. Something only Jason knew... At least, as far as he knew he was the only one. Alas, he didn't know that Shadow knew also...


	12. Chapter 11 - An Unexpected Guest

**Chapter 11 – A****n unexpected guest**

The entire mansion was in mourning as Kyle commended her body to the earth. After Chad and Jason had returned to the mansion without Shadow and the trainees in shock about a dead student, several search parties were sent out to find both of them, dead or alive. It was Jason, who searched alone, who found the student, but every bone in her body was broken, as if she had fallen from a great height. He also found a trail of blood nearby. Whoever the blood belonged to had certainly lost a lot. Jason followed the trail to a dead end, where it seemed to disappear without a trace. Every assassin presumed Shadow was dead. Now the assassins attended the student's funeral, with the exception of Chad, who locked himself in the cellar, as he did when any assassin died. He would only emerge from the cellar seven days later, bruised and bleeding, no-one knew why as no-one could get into the cellar. He claimed to be releasing his _full carnivore_. Even William was at the funeral, leaning heavily on his makeshift wooden crutch, which Jason assured would not be needed by the next full moon. Every assassin present remembered their own childhood as _Carla Southers_ was lowered into the ground.

* * *

Jason remembered running in the woods with his half brother, playing hide and seek with their friends. Connor's mother did not like Sohcahtoa as his mother had lain with Haytham to produce him. It was Connor's best friend, Kanen'tó:kon who drew the shortest stick, so he was the seeker. Unbeknownst to Sohcahtoa, future mentor Connor was being knocked unconscious by the vile Charles Lee. That was when Sohcahtoa came across the precursor artefact. He was hiding behind as large tree when he noticed a peculiar light from the ground by his feet. Being an exceedingly curious child, Sohcahtoa brushed aside the dead leaves and light dirt to uncover a shimmering golden snake of a lightweight but sturdy in the shape of the infinity symbol. As he reached down to pick it up and further study it, he hastily withdrew his hand as he swore he could hear it hiss at him. Averting his eyes as he again attempted to pick it up, the apparent statue uncoiled and leapt onto his arm, transforming itself into a tattoo. Fearing that he would be branded a freak, he fled into self-exile, and did not meet Connor again until he stopped Sohcahtoa from killing Chad and Will in a tavern shortly after they had been recruited. Ever since the snake had latched onto him, which he never told anyone about; Sohcahtoa found that he had a multitude of abilities at his disposal. For one, his muscles developed at an astonishing rate. He could also see thermal vision, which he dubbed '_snake vision'_ and his reflexes and flexibility was unheard of. He could also summon two poisoned fangs to appear out of the mouth cobra tattoo at will as a built in hidden blade should he lose his conventional ones. His last and favourite ability was the power to shed or regenerate skin and any wounds, in other terms: immortality. But he never told anyone of these abilities. Not even his brother...

* * *

William's memories were far simpler. His father was a redcoat gone revolutionist and, being in a military family, Will was always faced with the prospect of his father's death. All he remembered was the constant worry for his father's life. Fortunately, when Will's father's death came it was peaceful. He died happily in his bed just three months after the end of the revolutionary war.

* * *

As the bells rang out their solemn tone and the mourners cried on each other's shoulders or fought back the tears, a blooded man limped up the steps, clutching at his side, fresh blood flowing between his fingers. One by one the crowd turned and collectively gasped in shock and awe at the hooded man as they gradually realised who he was. Shadow had returned. He limped heavily up to Carla's grave and fell to his knees before it. He would have fallen in if Jason had not caught him under his arms and hauled him backwards. Shadow was devastated. He had failed his task: a student had died in his care. At least it wasn't Jae. He would have killed every Templar with his bare hands and then himself if it had been Jae. And with this thought, Shadow lost enough blood to slip into an uneasy unconsciousness.

* * *

Shadow had not dreamed since the death of his parents when he was nought but a little boy of seven. He used to have nightmares of his mother and father's dull, lifeless eyes staring at him, accusing him. Those visions haunted him again along with new horrors: Jae's face staring at him with blood flowing in large amounts out of every orifice on her face. He could not look away. The corpse of the murdered girl, who was cruelly deformed from the fall, also plagued his sleep. He had nightmare after nightmare and he tossed and he turned but could not awake from this hell. He was alone in the dark, surrounded by shadows...

* * *

Jason and Jae never once left Shadow's side, Mentor Connor giving Jae special permission to skip lessons. No-one had ever seen Shadow so weak and fragile before and many doubted that he'd live beyond the end of the week, but the elder assassins held faith in his ability to survive against all odds. Lauryn now taught Shadow's classes in his stead, but she would become unfocused whenever someone brought news of Shadow. All of the students began to believe that Lauryn was romantically involved with him, but very few noticed how close she and Chad were in the grand hall, or the small gestures that Chad made such as winking or rushing to her aid for the most minor tasks. Those who did notice the subtle signs of affection dismissed them as they knew of his relationship with a woman named Ruby Rose and thought that he was comforting her after everything that had happened. Chad loved Ruby dearly, but could not deny his desire to be with Lauryn. If he could have both of them he would laugh the world away with happiness, but alas the world is cruel and dark. He must choose in a world where death is always waiting around the corner.

When Chad finally emerged from the cellar of the mansion covered in both dry and wet blood, Shadow was still in a bad way and had a possibly fatal fever that threatened his life, but he refused to die. Jason said that it was because of Jae's constant presence at his side that he had a reason to fight on to live, so she never left his side. Meals were brought to her and a change of clothes, wash basin and screen were brought also so she could wash and change in privacy. Jae was gently stroking Shadow's hand when Jason helped Chad out of the 'sick area' that they had prepared in the mansion after healing all of his self inflicted wounds. Even now she could feel how fragile his hands were in hers.

"I'll never leave you, Shadow. You'll never be alone again." She did not know why but Jae felt a really close attachment to Shadow, which confused her greatly. All of a sudden, he started to sweat insanely and his temperature scorched upwards, frightening Jae. She dashed out of the room as fast as her legs could carry her, and informed Jason as hastily as she could. Jason ran back into the room and examined Shadow. He breathed a sigh of relief. "The fever's broken. He's going to live!"


	13. Chapter 12 - Scars

**Chapter 12**

Several years had passed and Jae was now an eighteen-year-old girl. Since she first joined the assassins, Jae's fighting, climbing and stealth skills had vastly improved. She had become a lot more toned since then and no longer felt uncomfortable around assassins that she did not know. She retained her long, flowing, brown hair and baby features on her face. She was still an O'Clery. She had changed Shadow too. Since her arrival, he had spoken more and more until he eventually reached a point where he could even have been considered socially _normal_. On the day of her eighteenth birthday, the assassins had honoured her with her first solo mission, with Shadow supervising of course. He was only to intervene if she was in danger. As the pair darted over rooftops, they spoke of casual things like they were the best of friends, with Jae having no knowledge of Shadow's secret of her. Jae saw this as the perfect opportunity to ask what she had been asking for the last two weeks.

* * *

Two weeks ago, a ship docked at the mansion's harbour carrying around fifty assassins from around the globe. A pair of which disembarked and upon noticing Shadow, referred to him as 'ghost.' Shadow's fists clenched at his side as his barely suppressed anger flared within him. They clearly felt negatively towards him. Jae had been at his side when this happened. For the next two weeks, Jae hounded Shadow on the meaning of that nickname. No matter how calm and peaceful he was, he would refuse to talk to anyone if they asked. Horatio asked his father, but he refused to cough up the information. Even the other senior assassins wouldn't tell any of the students, though they all grimaced at the questions. They knew, and Jae would not stop until she knew too.

* * *

On this night however, Shadow stopped running, crouched down low on a rooftop, sighed and explained, forcing her to secrecy upon doing so.

"Three years ago, in the icy forests of what is known as Russia, I lead a troop of about 200 hundred assassins." He gazed into her eyes and, seeing that she wanted to know, he continued. "We were ambushed. Templars swarmed in from all sides, firing volley after volley into us. That night I let my whole group go down. In that group was a girl I loved with all my heart, and I will never forget her. She had beautiful green eyes like shimmering emeralds and flowing, golden hair. Her name was Lucy. Me and her were the only survivors, though she was dying. She said to me. She said 'What was I to you?' I told her she was a soldier. A soldier with a promising future ahead of her. She told me I was a ghost. That feelings passed straight through me, so cold and unforgiving in every choice that I'd made in battle. A pure soldier. As she died she asked one finally thing of me. She said if I could be strong enough to feel... something. If I could just be human... That night I looked up at the stars and something died inside of me. That's when it happened. That's when I truly became a ghost." A single tear ran down Shadow's cheek. Jae had never seen him like this before. He was normally a cool and concentrated warrior, keeping emotions out of his life, but this was a totally different side to Shadow. This was ghost. A failure to himself and his people, ashamed of his past wrongs. Afraid of the ghost. Afraid of himself.

He rose abruptly. "Come on. We... you have a mission to do." He continued along the rooftops. Jae sprinted to keep up with him.

* * *

Hey guys and gals! A bit of a shorter chapter today as I've got a lot going on at the moment. This one is for all of you who have seen Prototype from the Halo: Legends (Best story on the DVD!) I was hard to match the speech to Shadow as I can't remember and fitting it to context was difficult. As always, read and review! Thank you Themadman59 and tjmason314 for your continued support of this story!


	14. Chapter 13 - Murder

**Chapter 13 – Murder**

Many years passed. Jae and the former initiates were now veteran assassins of many years and dangerous warriors. Many were placed in charge of the training of new initiates and all took part in 'hunting' them when they arrived at the docks, much like the assassins 'hunted' Jae and Horatio ten years ago. Horatio was now William's apprentice and often assisted in his combat training demonstrations. Layla studied under Lauryn, aiming to learn how assassins dealt with logistics. Jae was taught how to manage the guild by Mentor Connor Kenway himself; a man now struggling to rise from his bed each morning, but still had the fire in his eyes from when he ended the life of Charles Lee and stopped the Templar threat temporarily. Yet, ever present in Jae's life, was Shadow. He stood vigilant, like a tormented guardian angel, and kept Jae under his wing. Inevitably, duty called and Shadow was forced to set sail aboard 'The Wolf' to combat Templar reinforcements travelling over the Atlantic. Jason was sent into the ever expanding frontier to sabotage Templar supply lanes as he knew the land better than any. Chad was sent away on a contract and William was fighting in a tournament in the fight club, leaving Horatio to lead the combat lessons. It was during this time that disaster struck. One death lead to many. That death caused the collapse of a brotherhood and sent the others into infighting. One death. One disaster...

* * *

Kyle had temporarily relieved Jae, Layla and Horatio of duty for a _special_ assignment. An assassin had been captured by what little Templar agents remained. They were to retrieve him, whatever his condition. Intelligence suggested that his location was damn near impossible to reach. Port Royal was still a redcoat stronghold and the last remaining land they held in the Americas. Despite the war of independence being long since over, the redcoat garrison was overwhelming and the finest ships the British could spare stood vigilant in the docks. Cannons stood ready to lay waste to any attacking ships and line upon line of muskets and rifles patrolled the impenetrable walls at all hours of the day. But, being on an island, naval supply lines were of the utmost importance.

The Firefly sailed lazily across the ocean, splitting the waves in two with its sails fluttering in the wind. Her flag with the assassin symbol had been pulled down and in its place flew the colours of a merchant ship. Jae stood at the wheel, yelling orders at the crew whilst Layla stood in the crow's nest and Horatio leaned over the bow, scanning the water for rocks hidden just below the surface. As Firefly flew closer and closer, no cannons roared nor any mortars rained. They slipped into port with the sun high in the sky. As they moored to the docks, a large group or regulars lead by a captain trained their weapons on the crew. The old quartermaster stepped forward as the captain of the ship and began giving a full inventory to the leader of the regulars. The redcoats kept a watchful eye on the crew but were completely oblivious to the three assassins sneaking silently below them in the narrow gap of air between the water and the planks of wood above them. All it would take now was a sudden splash from the assassins and a redcoat to look between the planks below him and their plan would fail. Fortunately, there was no splash, no redcoat investigating and no death. There was only silence.

"Why can we never go on your bloody ship without getting wet?" laughed Layla as she shook her hair and pulled her hood over it. The three assassins chuckled at the remark but each of them knew that they didn't have much time. They were now on a beach on the opposite side of the fort from the dock. With a firm nod of the head, the assassins went their separate ways. Before they had arrived, they had hatched a plan and each of them had their own assignment. Layla was to locate and extract the captured assassin, Horatio's task was to kill the Templar in command of the fort before finding Layla and providing her an escort out of the fort and Jae was to create the biggest distraction possible to cover their escape. Timing was key. Jae dived back into the cool ocean while Horatio scaled the fort wall and Layla made her way to the prison rooftops to scan for the warden.

"Do you reckon those revolutionists will attack us?"  
"Nah. They might have pushed us off the mainland and _won_, but we're still here and they've got more sense that to try to take this fort. We've got better guns, cannons and ships. They'd smash against us like waves on rocks."  
"And? All them years ago, at the battle o' Lexington and Concord, that was supposed to be an easy victory. Look how that turned out."  
"True, but that was on _land_, they've got no real power at sea." The two redcoats debated as they did their patrol of the wall. One of them caught a glimpse of movement ahead of them. "Hey!" he yelled, "What was that? Stay here Steve. I'll check it out." The redcoat marched forward, weapon at the ready. He kept his back to the wall of a large wooden building they used for storage. He quickly charged around the corner, his finger on the trigger of his musket. There was nothing there. "False alarm, Steve. Steve?" His fellow redcoat had vanished from behind him. "Where in the devil-" He was cut short by a blade piercing his heart from behind him. He collapsed before being dragged into a nearby hay bale. Horatio ran onward, deeper and deeper into the wolf's lair.

* * *

"Quiet, you dogs!" yelled a guard, deep within the fort's prison. Layla materialised behind him and replied with a hidden blade through the small of his back and a whisper of "Silence, you rat." As the guard's feet crumpled underneath him, she caught his weight and dumped his body in an empty cell. She continued this pattern of appearing, killing and then returning to the shadows as she slowly infiltrated the prison, guard by guard. Her path was a subtle trail of death, seen only by only those with eyes to see. Prisons were never an assassin's playground like outside open spaces. Long corridors made for poor hiding spots, creaking cell doors made enough noise to raise half of the fort from its slumber and the enclosed spaces made combat manoeuvrability difficult at the best of times. In truth, this place was a nightmare. But Layla waded on regardless. She was one of the best assassins and no-one could stop her when she set her sights on something.

As she charged around the final corner she was confronted with a small room. The room itself was sparsely filled: a few barred rooms led off from the left wall to keep the important prisoners, a few torches littered the walls to provide some light to the room, and in the centre stood an old oak desk and chair lined with chips and scratches from years of usage. Current occupying the chair was her target: the warden. When Layla ran into the room, the warden calmly looked up at her for a second or two before resuming his work with a quill and parchment. It seemed as though he couldn't care less. After a few moments, he stood up from his chair with the same air of calm and fluidness as from when he first saw Layla. "I was wondering when one of your kind would catch on and send one of you after me but _this_?! I'm hurt that they think that you alone could take me on." His tongue was like silver and his voice like roses. _So I had better avoid the thorns,_ Layla thought to herself. When Layla only drew her hidden blades and slipped into her ready stance in reply, the warden sighed and showed her his own hidden blades…

* * *

The commander of the fort was drunk to the point of wetting himself at his long table that stretched the length of the hall, his laugh booming into the rafters. He was caught completely off guard by the brief scuffling outside the iron studded door then one of his guardsmen being thrown limply through the door, dead. Horatio stepped quietly through the wreckage of the door, his heavy bearded axe coated with a fine layer of blood. With this stranger bursting through the door with a blood covered axe, the fort commander emptied his bladder again. Guards charged forwards to restrain Horatio but they were reduced to nothing before him and his axe. The commander slowly backed against the wall begging for mercy, the flagon of wine still in his hand. With the guards dead and only Horatio and the commander in the room, Horatio unsheathed his hatchet and threw it as hard as he could. He pinned the Templar to a wooden shield ornament by the collar of his uniform, cutting off his escape. The rafters formerly filled with laughter turned to screams of pain.

* * *

She did not know what confused her more: the fact that this vile Templar had hidden blades or that his ready stance virtually mirrored her own. It was not uncommon for Templars to steal the hidden blades of fallen assassins but the stance? That couldn't be coincidence. And so began the dance of warriors and blades to the ring of steel on steel. A smooth choreography of leaps and rolls punctuated by parries and slashes. Swirls of cloth and the drumming of feet. But all too soon came the grand finale and the warden missed a step. He hung loosely from Layla blades, cuts and puncture wounds covering his body, but it was the stab between his third and fourth rib that finished him. His body crumpled to the ground as she wrenched her blades free. As the last drops of blood left his body, he struggled to say his final words "May your father –ugh- nding shit on y-your corpse." Giving him his final rites, Layla snatched his keys and unlocked one of the cells. Inside was a rat of a man with sharp, narrow features and a receding hair line. Filthy rags covered little of his body and his ribs were clearly defined against his skin – a result of him being underfed – and a selection of bruises indicated where he'd been beaten viciously during his time here. He was quite short as well and his beard was obviously unkempt even before he was captured. As the man staggered to his feet with the help of Layla, something was nagging in the back of her mind, something the warden had said…

* * *

Layla was carrying the small man up the steps to the grand hallway with a large door – the way out – when she saw Horatio sat on a pile of dead redcoats, his axe firmly planted halfway through the skull of one such redcoat. He seemed strangely at peace. Layla was beginning to wonder if he was taking secret lessons from Chad. As soon as he saw her, he pulled his axe free before replacing it in its sheathe and rushing over to help carry the wounded man. In the years of training, Horatio had become tall and strong as an ox and carried the smaller man over one shoulder as easily as a ragdoll, relieving Layla of the weight. Now unburdened, she slipped silently to the door and inched it open, little by little, peering outside and assessing the large space of open ground before her. As she stepped outside, she pulled down her hood and stood up straight and tall. To crouch low to the ground and attempt to sneak back to the ship would be highly suspicious if they were caught, which they most certainly would be with so much open ground to cover. Horatio followed suite and they strolled proud and confidently towards the front gate and the docks beyond. The words of Shadow rang clear in both their ears as memories of old lessons drilled constantly into their minds returned from the depths of their heads. "If you can't hide in the shadows, don't hide at all. You'll only draw attention of those around you." As if on que, two guards came rushing past Layla and Horatio without so much as asking where they were going. Their confidence rising by the minute, they increased their pace to a steady jog and in less than two minutes they were boarding the Firefly once more. As the former quartermaster took the liberated man from Horatio and carried him below deck, while Horatio was halfway along the gangplank the ship, a redcoat officer stood on the great walls before them and yelled at the top of his lungs "Murder! Murder! The merchants have committed murder!" The pair of assassins cursed under their breaths. Within seconds the entire section of wall was swarming with redcoats, all aiming straight at them.

'Well this doesn't look good…'

In the next instant, a dark and hooded figure ran towards the edge of the wall from behind the redcoats, shoving them out of the way. The figure swan dived over the ledge with two redcoats pushed over alongside as the top of the wall was coated in flame and the world seemed to ripple with the force of the explosion. As the figure splashed into the clear, blue water next to the ship, the crew recognised the captain: Jae. The two falling redcoats were not as lucky as young Jae. One landed head first on the docks and broke his neck on impact and the other found himself impaled on the sharp rocks at the base of the fort walls. The crew set sail once again as Jae clambered back aboard and the fort continued to explode behind them. "Really?!" Layla questioned Jae, "You blew up their entire arsenal! You were only meant to make a small distraction!"

Horatio only laughed aloud and patted Jae on the back. "Master Chad would be proud!"

Their mission accomplished, they sailed peacefully home, undisturbed by any marauding warships. But below the decks of the ship, in his solitude, the former prisoner grinned, as the plan unfolded, just as predicted…

* * *

It was fast approaching midnight as the Firefly slowly moored in the docks at the base of the mansion, and the soft twinkle of candles illuminated the open windows, punctuated by the larger burning torches carried by the assassin guards who were unlucky enough to be called upon for the watch in the night, patrolling around the mansion, drowsy from lack of sleep. The place seemed strangely… at peace. As the crew started the tedious chore of loading and unloading the supplies to and from the ship, Jae leapt onto the docks, spryly bounding up the steps to the courtyard. Horatio and Layla slept on-board the Firefly, too exhausted to move, and the ferret of a man slipped back on land, his back heavily hunched over. Jae noticed that Shadow's ship was still absent, clearly indicating he had yet to return from his assignment. She walked through the rear entrance of their headquarters, nodding greetings to assassins she knew who were posted on guard. In her time away, she had received letters from the assassins regarding Mentor Connor's failing health. She strolled down a corridor of doors on the second floor now, heading directly for the mentor's room. Lost in her thoughts, she accidentally knocked into the shoulder of an assassin coming the opposite way. She muttered an apology, but the assassin kept his hood up and his head down, ignoring her completely, his walk brisk. Clearly he was in a rush. As Jae reached her destination, she knocked softly on the door before slipping calmly inside, not wanting to cause the assassin who overthrew the Templars in the New World any kind of discomfort. As she laid eyes upon him for the first time in months, she was shocked to see the figure lay in bed was as weak as he was. Connor barely had enough strength to open his eyes and he drew in long, ragged breaths through his struggling lungs. He was clearly living his finally days. Jae sat on the chair next to his bed, delicately placing one of his frail hands in her own strong hands. He turned his head towards her, his breaths becoming shorter and shorter and a dark red patch began to grow on his blanket and the level of his chest. The patch began to grow faster and faster and Jae could smell and all too familiar scent, that of blood. Confused and curious, she lifted the blanket gently off his chest and what she saw shocked to her core. She threw the now red blanket on the floor and placed her hands of the stab wound on her mentor's chest attempting to staunch the flow of blood, but it was too late, the famous Connor had passed…

She sobbed as she felt the faint tremors on his body stop, as she felt the life ebb out of him. Who had done this? Her hand remained where it was, now covered in his blood. At that exact moment, a couple of assassin guards pushed the door open, drawn to the sound of crying. They saw their beloved mentor dead, with a rising star in the assassins standing over him, his blood on her hands and her hidden blade attached to her wrists. They stood aghast at the sight while Jae slowly turned her head to them, remorse written all over her face. The guards were the first to recover, drawing their pistols and engaging their hidden blades. "You- You have killed the honourable mentor and you have therefore committed crimes against the assassins. Prepare for your death, traitor!" Jae just stood stock still, shocked…

* * *

Update (22/09/2016): Hey guys, I know it has been so long but I finally have free time on my hands again and you'll be happy to know that I plan on updating my stories again! As you may have noticed, my grammar sucks so any help would be greatly appreciated! Updates soon!


	15. Chapter 14 - Betrayal

**Chapter 14 - Betrayal**

The three of them stood there for a while, the two guards determined and cold-hearted, and Jae shocked and confused. She raised her hands to the level of her head in surrender and backed slowly away from the guards. She didn't want to kill them, and she wouldn't. As she retreated further into the room, they advanced slowly in, pistols trained on her heart. Jae stopped as she bumped into the edge of a large open window behind her. As she stopped, so too did the guards. All of a sudden as dark figure leapt through the window and kicked one of the guards in the jaw, causing the guard's head to snap backwards and hit the wall, knocking him unconscious. The second guard was more prepared and brought his lead hand down, going for an overhead slash with his hidden blade but the figure sidestepped the blow. The guard overbalanced and stumbled forward as the figure brought his knee up and it made contact with the unfortunate guard's chin. The whole process only took a couple of seconds. The figure stood victorious over the assassins and the blood covered face of Shadow turned to face the astonished Jae. Shadow's assassin robes were ragged and sliced in places, and his exposed skin was a combination of cuts, scratches and blood. Clearly something had gone wrong. "S- Shadow," Jae stuttered, "Mentor Connor, he's…"

Shadow cut her off. "He's dead. I know." Blunt, as always. "We need to leave. Now." Before Jae could answer, the heavy footfalls of rapidly approaching guards thundered down the hallway. Without thinking, Shadow hooked an arm around her waist and leapt out of the window, pulling her with him, as more guards burst into the room. They landed hard on the cobblestone courtyard below. Shadow groaned as his legs took most of the impact from the fall, but the duo swiftly charged off down towards the docks, where more unconscious assassins lay and the crew of the Firefly were pushing off from the docks. "Hurry!" yelled the quartermaster, and they ploughed on faster. Shadow only looked back once, to see the figure of Kyle in Connor's window, yelling "Traitors! Hunt them! Cut them down!" The former prisoner stood beside Kyle, grinning in their victory. Shadow was supposed to be dead and Jae captured and executed, but this was only a minor setback. The brotherhood belonged to Kyle now, and so their fate was sealed. As the Firefly cast off from its moorings, Jae noticed that Shadow's ship was still not here. What happened on his assignment? The crew set off under full sails and Shadow kept his eye behind them, monitoring for any pursuit launched by the deceived assassins. Layla and Horatio watched ahead, in case of any blockades set up by the assassins. As they approached calmer waters, the three of them gathered by Jae at the wheel and Jae asked Shadow the question that was on everyone's mind: "What's going on?" With a sigh, Shadow explained.

"We have been betrayed. All of us have. Me, Jason, Chad and Will were all sent on separate assignments with help from those loyal to Kyle. After the objective was complete, they turned on us. I had to abandon my own ship and spend weeks on an island, hunting to survive. I was lucky enough to get the attention of a passing merchant vessel and secure passage back to the mainland. The others are ok, and we're all finding each other. We know where to hide."

"You said Kyle was behind this?" Layla asked.

"Yes."

"Why would he do such a thing?" This was Horatio.

"Power. I've always seen that hungry look for power in his eyes. I was foolish to let my guard down. Now he has the assassins under his control and they follow him blindly."

"So… where do we go now?" asked Jae.

"Follow the coast for now. I'll tell you when to change course." Shadow replied. Without another word, he climbed the main mast, seeking the solitude of the sky to ponder on the events that had unfolded…

* * *

Will ran as fast as his legs could carry him, but he was built with brute strength rather than speed and agility, which meant that his assailants easily kept pace with him and every few paces, he had to stop and fend them off. The hulking figure of Will pounded down the narrow alleyways, dressed only in shorts, as he cursed himself for being so reckless and allowing this to happen.

* * *

Will had been doing well in the tournament and was doing the guild proud in the city's underground network, but amongst thieves and beggars, it was hardly a fair fight. Winning the tournament would not only give the guild more respect and assistance from the lower classes in the city, but it also included a hefty cash reward which the guild would put to excellent use. Each round was more difficult than the last but Will had yet to break a sweat in any fight and now, only the grand final remained. He was not prepared for what lay in store for him there. The fight went heavily in his favour, as was expected. After a flurry of blows, he sent his opponent down on to one knee with his head bowed in submission. But in the flash of an eye, his opponent leapt up, revealing a shiny steel dagger and brought the weapon down onto the assassin. Will was ashamed to admit that the surprise attack had in fact caught him off guard, and he staggered back in shock. The dagger did not hit its mark though and his assailant didn't press his advantage, so when Will 'The Brawler' pulled the blade free, he made true to his name, and beat his merciless to a pulp. The would-be killer died from his injuries. As Will look at the surrounding crowd that had done nothing in response to the breakage of rules, blood flowing down his chest, and as one the crowd drew their own weapons and levelled them at him. An assortment of daggers, knives, swords and even a few pistols all closed in on their prey. Will did not feel confident he would win, even if he had his assassin gear on him, but unfortunately, they were locked in his private room where he prepared for each round of the fights. He felt naked without his weapons. But, ever the hero, he would fight to the bitter end. After many blows, both giving and receiving, he managed to acquire some of the attackers' weapons and used them to his own advantage and cleaved a path through the mob and onto the streets, where he attempted to flee into the night.

Which brought him to where he is now: desperately defending himself and running further every time he disengaged his foes. Will was light on his feet; he had to be, as an assassin, but he could not outrun the thieves, pickpockets and murders that relied on their speed to survive the harsh streets, over the strength that was favoured to Will. As will quickly rounded a corner, he swiftly leapt up and held onto a small overhang in the alleyway which he now hung. Below, the pursuers ran blindly onward, oblivious to the sweating, bleeding figure barely a full head's height above them. After he was sure they had gone and his straining muscles could hold him no more, Will dropped from the ledge, dropping into a crouch to silence the movement. Grinning a bloody smile with a few less teeth than usual at the direction they had gone, he turned and began to walk in the opposite direction. Across the street, two assassins wearing the traditional robes and wielding muskets were looking around, seeming to scan and comb the street for… something. Will, caught in his thoughts about finding help at last and maybe an explanation, stepped into a shallow puddle. The noise was almost silent, but it was enough. The two assassins stopped dead in their tracks and their heads whipped around at the direction of the sound. Seeing Will across the street, the nodded to one another, and aimed at the stunned assassin.

* * *

Chad and Lauryn had been tasked with killing a notable Templar and threat to the safety of the assassins, who's headquarters lay deep in the forest in the frontier. Both assassins had agreed to bringing a squad of veteran assassins with them and launch a full scale assault on the encampment that was their hated foe's base of operations. This would send a message to the remaining Templars in the New World of the power of the Assassin Brotherhood here. Neither Chad nor Lauryn knew any of the assassins that had been sent with them, but they clearly knew what they were doing and they had all been hand-picked by Kyle, and they trusted his judgement. The would have liked Shadow to have been present to assess them himself, but he was already away on his assignment at that point. Chad and Lauryn both sat perched in a tree, with their squad hidden all around the encampment. Both scanned the camp for some time, recognising the pattern and timings of the guard patrols and the guards stood still on sentry duty. They also planned their assault well as dawn was fast approaching. The guards would be close to the end of their shift and would become relaxed that they could soon enjoy a soft bed and some warm food. They would also be very tired. As soon as they deemed the time was right, Chad gave a single, soft whistle and the sentries dropped dead with blades or darts protruding from them, and were dragged into nearby bales of hay or dense patches of foliage. With the guards gone, the assassins moved into the tents and claimed the lives of the sleeping inhabitants. But both assassins had missed something. Something so unimportant but can change everything in a heartbeat. One of the sleeping soldiers had woken minutes before and had walked outside the safety of the camp for a morning piss. By mere chance, he had somehow slipped through the ring of assassins that encircled the camp. He strolled back now, in time to see a robed figure step out of his friend's tent, warm blood coating his forearm. The shocked soldier let out a piercing yell in alarm, and the assassin's quick reactions stopped the scream short with a throwing knife to the throat, but the damage was done. Even now, the survivors scrambled out of their tents, grabbing anything to use as a weapon. The remaining soldiers made a defensive circle around their Templar master, and the assassins formed a larger circle around them, blocking them in. Neither side moved a muscle, a deadly stalemate. Deciding the time was right, Chad and Lauryn leapt down from the tree where they'd watched everything unfold. The both landed exactly halfway between both circles. "Good morning!" Chad exclaimed with a mocking bow, "I trust you enjoyed your wake up call." He continued with a grin.

"Honestly," Lauryn said to him, "Don't you ever shut up?"

"Not while I'm still conscious!" He replied with a wink.

As one, the Templars charged outwards and the assassins launched forwards. The assassins leapt and swerved and cut the Templars down with ease, punctuated with the maniacal laughs of Chad as he killed with too much pleasure to be considered normal. Lauryn was a silent killer. She was the most agile and performed many fancy kills without so much as a grunt of effort escaping her lips. Before long, only the Templar master remained. Not a single assassin fell.

"Rest in peace." Chad and Lauryn said solemnly as both their hidden blades punctured his chest.

"Well done today, boys!" Chad exclaimed to the grouped assassins. "Mission accomplished!"

"Not quite…" One assassin chimed in. Both Lauryn and Chad glared in his direction, startled. His cheeks flushed bright red.

"And why would that be?" Lauryn questioned.

"Well, you see, we have additional orders… directly from master Kyle himself…" And as if acting on a hidden signal, all the gathered assassins pointed their weapons on the pair of master assassins. Chad and Lauryn did not give them time to react. The launched forward, as before, but the assassins were trained in the same art of killing as them, so they met fierce resistance. The duo fought back to back and cut down many assassins, receiving as many wounds as they handed out and this time even Chad was silent.

* * *

Soon, only a handful of traitorous assassins still stood and Lauryn and Chad felt their victory crawling closer, but they both knew better than to act over-confident at this point of a battle. At this point, the enemy is desperate and will throw all caution to the wind and will attempt anything to swing the battle in their favour. Once more the traitors leapt, one even getting between the pair and driving a wedge between them. As Chad whirled around to meet him, his robes swirling with the movement, his eyes widened in terror. Perched in the same tree they had sat in moments before the assault on the encampment, was a lone assassin, his rifle aimed straight at the unsuspecting Lauryn.

"NO!" Chad screamed at the top of his lungs as the marksman fired. Time seemed to slow and Chad watched helplessly as the shot travelled towards Lauryn, and pierced the flesh in the direct centre of her chest. Blood exploded from the wound and Lauryn collapsed to her knees. Chad threw a knife that hit the killer directly in the face, killing him instantly and he charged towards the wounded Lauryn, slashing the throat of the assassin between them with his hidden blade as he charged past. In one fluid motion, he scooped up Lauryn in his arms and continued running, not breaking his pace. He ran for some time before taking cover behind a tree as the chasing assassins hurtled past as fast as they could, trying to catch up with the pair. When the coast was clear, Chad lay Lauryn down on the ground. She was already a deathly pale. Her eyes were shut. Blood ran down her body, and a thin line of it trickled down from her mouth. Chad ripped off the sleeve of his robes, folded it many times before holding it down on the wound, hoping to slow the tide of blood. For the first time in many years, tears fell from his eyes, rolling down his cheeks before dripping onto Lauryn's face. Slowly, she opened her eyes.

"Chad…" Her voice was weak.

"Don't talk, save your strength." Chad sobbed as he spoke.

"I don't need it… I need you to be strong… Strong so no-one else has to suffer…"

"Lauryn please, don't do this."

With great effort, she raised her arm and gripped his as tight as she could. It was as tight as a child's grip. She burst into a fit of coughing, more and more blood running down her chin from her mouth. She smiled as best she could.

"I trust you… Chad-" Her eyes rolled shut and her hand fell from his arm. More tears rolled down his face.

"Lauryn? Lauryn? Lauryn!" He screamed. His head flew back as he screamed to the heavens. The air was filled with the howl of a creature that had once been Chad, now a creature of sorrow and hate. A howl of a creature so full of pain and sorrow that it froze men's hearts to hear it. Two miles away, the traitors heard it.

Later that night, another new scream filled the air: The pain of traitors dying slowly in the cold, hard forest.


	16. Chapter 15 - Home

**Chapter 15 – Home**

After weeks of constant sailing through day and night, fighting against rough seas and rogue winds, Firefly limped into a small harbour, her hasty repairs only just holding. The harbour had a cliff-face on one side with the remains of a large house atop it, and opposite the cliff was an old wood dock with a small scattering of huts nearby. Shadow himself threw the rope over a dock post to hold the ship in place as it docked. He leapt onto the docks without even waiting for the gangplank to be placed and surveyed the area. It looked as if it had been abandoned for years.

"Where are we?" Someone asked.

"Home." Shadow grinned. Jae walked up behind Shadow, followed closely by Horatio and Layla. Those three were inseparable. Shadow found it comforting that she was protected by them, even when he wasn't there. Shadow snapped out of his thoughts to see Jae smiling at him and he suddenly realised he was still grinning. He pulled his hood lower and replaced it with a scowl. Without another word, he started up a path that lead up to the top of the cliff. Horatio and Layla hadn't seen it, but Jae had, and that was enough. She smiled at the back of Shadow's head. As the trio set off after Shadow, the crew started unloading their supplies onto the dock, more cautious than they did at the mansion. They didn't want to have to fight for their lives and re-load the supplies back on the ship any time soon. When the trio of assassins reached the crest of the cliff, they saw Shadow sat in the centre of the burned remains of what must have been a large house, sifting ash and dust through his hands. "We've got a lot of work to do." He called without even turning his head.

"To rebuild the brotherhood?" Layla asked.

"No," Shadow turned to face them now, "To rebuild this house." This time, all three of them noticed his grin.

"It'll take forever!" Horatio moaned.

'He's definitely been spending too much time with Chad' Shadow thought. Shadow ignored him and continued. "We can stay in the huts by the dock until we're finished. Maybe the inn might still be standing." They stared at him, their faces blank, so he gestured down to a river. Their eyes widened as they noticed a small village down from the ruins, as deathly quiet as everywhere else. All that could be heard was the creaking of old wood structures and noises of nature. This was all that remained of the once lively Davenport Homestead.

* * *

A thorough scan of the village revealed that many of the buildings had fallen into dis-repair and were now useless, but the lumber mill, while still in dire need of repairs, was operational. Finishing the tour of the old village, Shadow set each of them tasks. Jae was to hunt for game to use as food for themselves and the crew, Horatio was to set the task of tearing down any unusable wood from the house on top of the hill and Layla was to stand at the peak of the cliff and keep a watchful eye on the horizon for anything: friend or foe. Shadow set to work in the lumber mill, overseeing the repair and operation of the building, which he had tasked the crew to do. No-one wasn't put to work. Even the aging quartermaster took stacks of firewood up the hill, and Shadow helped lifting heavy beams of wood and chopping logs in half to make the firewood that the quartermaster carried. With a small amount of luck on their side at last, the training room below the house, despite being the origin of the fire that destroyed it, stood mostly intact, anything of value having been taken years ago. Shadow continued training the three other assassins every night in that training room. They were very skilled and on their way to becoming some of the best assassins to ever have lived, but they still had much advanced skills to learn. An assassin's training is never finished. For weeks, every day was like this. After the lumber mill was finished and was fully operational, Shadow assigned some of the crew to work there, and they worked on re-opening Norris' mine. Norris had died years ago from an infection, in the hands of his dear wife, Miriam. The mine took far less time to get running again: It only took a few barrels of old explosives to clear the collapsed rocks. A few crew members later, the mine was running smoothly. Before long, work was started on the house itself. Work went quickly and efficiently and after a few months of construction, the ground floor was finished. It closely resembled the first floor of the original homestead, but with the candlestick which once opened the hidden door to the training room was replaced by a small switch on the underside of a desk which was now just across the room. The furniture was made by one of the crew who had spent many years repairing ships and they had recently discovered their hidden talent in carpentry. He had his own room on the first floor of Lance's old workshop.

* * *

One day, just before the first floor of the house was finished, a scout placed along the road by Layla ran up to the lumber mill, sweat pouring down his face. It was a fine summer day, and Shadow only wore his breeches, his chest, arms and face on clear display. He too was sweating as he used an axe to chop wood in half length-ways, the beads of sweat rolling down the criss-cross of scars on his back and chest. He struck the axe against the large tree stump we was using as a base to strike the wood, embedding it deeply. Using the back of his hand, he wiped the sweat from his forehead. When the scout came running down the path towards him, he pulled the axe free with one hand, and strolled over to the man, who was clearly exhausted. As Shadow approached, the runner stopped and bent over breathing hard. He tried to speak, but all that came out was a dry croak.

"Easy there." Shadow said, placing his hand on the man's shoulder. "Someone fetch this man some water!"

"I'm alright, sire. Horseman approaching the homestead, alone. Civilian clothing. We couldn't make out his face."

"Let him continue undisturbed, but tail him discreetly. At least until we know for sure who he is."

"As you wish." Without another word, the scout ran back in the direction he came. Shadow sent workers to send a swift message to Jae, Horatio and Layla to meet him immediately. Within minutes, all four assassins stood blocking the bridge that separated the house from the village. Shadow still wore his breeches, only now he also attached his hidden blade bracers. The other three wore their full assassins' robes with all of their weapons at the ready. Before long, the lone rider trotted into view. Shadow strolled to the front of the gathered assassins and engaged his hidden blades. Jae raised her Claymore sword, Horatio hefted his axe and Layla stood with her rapier at the ready. Shadow called out to the man. "Halt. This is private property. You are trespassing. Turn back now!" The rider slowed his horse from a walk to a stop, and his only reply was to fall from the saddle. While the others held back, Shadow ran forward, towards the figure who now lay motionless on the ground, slowing as he approached more cautiously. As he reached him, he realised the man was a dear friend of his, and unconscious.

* * *

Will woke in a bedroom that appeared strangely familiar to him. He knew where it looked like, but he couldn't be there. It was impossible. The homestead had burned down years ago. He tried to rise to a sitting position, but the pain from his chest denied him. Clenching and grinding his teeth, he tried once more. Pushing through the pain, he managed the small task of sitting up at least. Looking down to his chest, he saw heavy bandages covering the top, where the two shots had hit him. After that incident where he was forced to kill the two assassins who had tried to kill him, he had spent a long time in an abandoned house, stealing food and medical supplies. Before long, he'd also 'acquired' some regular civilian clothing and a horse. He had donned the civilian clothes and packed his own robes and equipment into a saddle bag along with the food and medical supplies he had left. He would have been in no condition to hunt game for food once he left the city. He had, however, keep his hidden blade bracers on in the scenario where he might need them against bandits or Templars on the road. Or even assassins, he had added with a grimace. He would have been in no state to fight back, but he certainly wouldn't die meekly. He rode for the abandoned homestead (as Shadow had planned should anything ever go wrong) expecting death to greet him along the way. His meagre collection of medical supplies ran out quickly and unlike Jason, he could never tell which plants treated what injury and which plants were poisonous. His lack of medicine had meant that he had to ride very slowly. He had been slowly crawling, inching towards his destination at an excruciating pace. So how could he be here now? Was he dead? Was he in heaven? He'd always thought he was destined for hell when his time came. As he had this thought, the door opened softly and Jae entered wearing casual clothing and carrying a tray of food and tea. The food was a combination of freshly cooked game and some fresh vegetables. On the side of the tray, next to the tea, was a small heap of biscuits. When she saw him wide awake she smiled warmly, and he returned the smile. She set the tray down on the small table and poured the tea into a small cup which she passed to him.

"Where am I?" he asked.

"Master Shadow calls this place home or the homestead. I don't know if that means anything to you?" she replied. He smiled gratefully for that and took a sip of his tea. It tasted delicious and he felt instantly refreshed, but still the pain persisted. With a smile, Jae left the room and left Will to his meal.

* * *

This continued for about a month with Jae delivering food and drink, the pair talking for a while and then Jae left him alone. Layla and Horatio occasionally visited him, but Shadow never seemed to have the time. Before long, Will was walking again and soon he was strolling outside, touring the village as it slowly returned to life. The inn was renovated by this point and most of the crew resided there. As soon as Shadow saw him out and about, he set him straight to work with him in the lumber mill. The small wood chopping axe was a good substitute for Will's own axe until he had built up his strength once more. Each day was hard work from dawn until the evening, at which point Will would head to the tavern for ales until late night when he would retire to his room. Shadow preferred to seal himself in the training room when the day was finished, and spent several hours in the darkness and silence below the house, meditating and drinking from a small cup he brought with him, along with a kettle of hot coffee. He'd acquired a taste for it years ago, and the bitterness soothed him. Jae, always the child she was, enjoyed going exploring in the surrounding woods and Layla and Horatio would train in the open air together, before sitting with their legs dangling over the edge of the cliff as the two of them watched the sunset. Jae noticed this and would often smile at the closeness of the pair when they worked.

* * *

As even more time passed, tradesmen and women who travelled the roads looking for work tended to stop at the inn on the homestead as a break in their journey, and Shadow would offer them the chance to stay at their own homes here, in return for them sharing their products with the others, much like Connor did years ago. Soon, the village was bustling and lively and perhaps even surpassed the number of residents that Connor settled before. All manner of trades were found on the homestead, not only the ones from before, but also stable hands and horse breeders, a dedicated butcher and a schoolmaster that would teach the children that came with the travellers and the children of the residents of the village. Soon it became a bustling and lively place full of joy and work, with the five present assassins watching over them, helping how they could. Will continued his work at the lumber mill, Horatio and Layla helped in the running of the farm, Jae worked with the horses, and Shadow managed to hire a group of thieves to act as his spies in the major cities, namely Boston and New York. All it took was the promise of honest gold and a threat concerning their genital area and his hidden blade, and they immediately agreed to the deal. He made sure he could monitor the movements of not only the Templars, but also the assassins. He also kept his eyes open and his ears to the ground for word of Chad or Jason, as they had yet to return to the homestead as Shadow had planned years ago. He prayed that they'd remembered.

* * *

As Shadow had this thought, Chad came stumbling down the hills and mountains bordering the north side of the homestead. He flopped down a slope and landed in a bush, disturbing the nearby deer. Startled, they scattered into the woods. A hunter stood up from where he was formerly concealed in the dense foliage. His thick Irish accent cut the air.

"You blasted idiot! What are you doing?"

Chad just stood up from where his lay, groaned to the hunter and continued on his aimless walk, away from the hunter. The hunter, still visibly frustrated, marched over to him and seized him arm in a big strong hand. He spun Chad to face him and when he was about to yell and spray flecks of spittle into this nuisance's face, his eyes went wide.

"ForgivememasterChadIdidn'tknowitwasyou" he spluttered as fast as he could. Chad just looked blindly past him and continued to walk onwards as he pulled his arm free. The hunter watched him go, utterly aghast and not sure how to react. As Chad proceeded further towards the manor, Will, who was taking a leisurely stroll in the surrounding forest saw his best friend and jogged over to him, overjoyed that he was alive.

"Chad! It is good to see you! I was starting to get worried."

Chad just grunted a sad sound in reply.

"Chad? Where's Lauryn? I've got a bone to pick with her, so to speak."

Upon hearing her name, he lowered his head, hiding his face from Will.

"She's dead," Shadow said softly, emerging from the shadows behind them, "isn't she?"

Chad turned his head to look in Shadow's eyes and saw a soft kindness and understanding in there, but also a fire of bitter hatred for those responsible. Only now did Will see the tears streaming down Chad's face. The three assassins lowered their heads in mourning and remembrance. Shadow gently placed and soft yet firm hand on his friend's shoulder and offered his condolences. They walked in silence back to the manor and Chad was led straight to the dining room and sat on a chair while Shadow fetched some tea. When the cup of tea was placed delicately next to Chad, and he gratefully took it, stories were told of each other's tales and the other two listened in respectful silence. When it was his turn, Chad even spoke of when he had to bury her in the dirt and the cold winter snow. Shadow told him that Lauryn had respected him for he had a noble and valiant heart. Chad's reply was simple.

"Heart?" he said. "I have filled my heart with hate."

Shadow nodded in understanding. He replied in a calm, even tone. "Be cautious that you do not become the monster you seek to destroy, or for that matter, destroy yourself."

A long silence followed. Will was the first to break the silence. "Do you think Jason will be back tonight?"

Shadow's manner became very dark. "No. Not tonight."

* * *

**Author's Note: Hey guys, as you might have noticed, I've uploaded fairly quickly by my standards and you can expect more chapters to be released soon too. I would just like to say thanks to my friend GreenDo for the review and I've taken on the advice you've given. BUT, as for your comment on chapter 3 about 2 guys mowing down 50, clearly you've never played assassin's creed. ;-) Either way, thanks for the review and the continued support of everyone for this story. Next chapter soon!**


	17. Chapter 16 - Panic

**Chapter 16 – Panic**

"How could this happen?!" Kyle screamed at the lieutenants before him.

"S-sir, w-we did the best we c-could…" Stammered one of the lieutenants. Kyle rounded on him and glared at him. The lieutenant lowered his head in shame.

"They had no idea what was about to happen, you had them completely by surprise. And what do you achieve with that? Many assassins loyal to me now lay dead and in return we have killed a single one of them!"

"But sire," another lieutenant piped up nervously, "We did succeed into deceiving the three younger assassins into killing a hidden assassin agent and freeing one of ours in return."

Kyle grunted in reply, conceding the point. The plan at the redcoat fort had been a massive success, as the jailor had actually been an assassin agent planted within the Templar cause and the scrawny man was another assassin agent who had also infiltrated the Templar cause, but the jailor hadn't known. He didn't know that he too was an assassin informant, but the scrawny man was loyal to Kyle and his 'new order.' Sensing that he was gaining the upper hand in the argument, the lieutenant continued to press the point.

"And getting them to kill an assassin agent will help us convince the remainder of the assassins that they are rogues and they will join us under your command. They can't kill us all."

"Oh, don't you think so?" Kyle asked menacingly. His face went from red to purple with rage. "That Shadow alone could kill all of us single-handedly. You would be wise to remember that. Never underestimate your enemy."

"Surely everyone has a weakness?" Another lieutenant chimed in.

"Yes," Kyle replied, calming down slightly. "Shadow has Jae as his Achilles' heel, so we should probably investigate their connection. Chad has his stupid 'carnivore' or whatever he calls it. He can be dangerous in a blood rage, but that makes him reckless and vulnerable. William is too obsessed with his muscles and body image. He should be easy to lure out."

"And that Jason? The black cobra? What's his weakness?"

"He's easy. His village was burned down and later abandoned. His wife and child were killed at a cliff by a Templar before he could arrive to save them. His half-brother is now dead. He is an emotional wreck. Slander insults and remind him of these failures, and I'm certain he'll show his face."

"I'm uncertain." Responded the last lieutenant. "Surely we should focus on wiping out the Templars as well as dealing with the other assassins?"

"Why do you think he had us let them live long enough to complete their mission before killing them?" This was the first lieutenant. "The Templars are no longer a threat, so we can focus entirely on the renegades."

Kyle grunted in agreement.

"Is Mr. Munson and his dear wife still being subjected to torture?" he asked.

"Yes sir, but neither have revealed anything as of yet."

Kyle grunted once more in annoyance. With this, he issued orders to his lieutenants to scour all the major cities down to the small towns and villages for any news of assassin activity. If they found anything that he personally hadn't authorise, then they had found their prey. Kyle left the room and entered the narrow hallway that housed all of the personal rooms of the assassins on the west side of the mansion. The scrawny man was waiting for him.

"Walk with me." Kyle demanded, though his voice remained even.

"Sir, our guards noticed at thief hiding next to the window of your meeting room. We assume he heard everything." The scrawny man muttered.

"I know." Kyle said without changing the tone of his voice.

"Sir? What should we do about him?"

Kyle stopped in the middle of the hallway, deep in thought. He eventually came to an answer.

"Leave him be. Let him escape the mansion unhindered, but ensure that it doesn't look like he was allowed to be let free."

"Should we follow him sire?"

"No, he'll travel faster if he knows for certain that no-one is tailing him. I want young master Horatio to learn of how we've been treating his dear mother and father." Kyle grinned.

* * *

Later, as Kyle was pacing around his study, a knock sounded at the door.

"Enter."

The scrawny rat of a man poked his head through the door as he inched it open, as if he was loathe to disturb his master.

"Sir," he said, "One of our messenger has important news. He says he will only speak to you, personally."

Kyle nodded acknowledgement. "Let him though, Harold."

With a slight incline of the head as a bow, the rat of a man named Harold withdrew. Seconds later, the messenger walked in nervously, his hat in his hands. Whereas Shadow was kind to his messengers and recognised their importance, Kyle saw them only as objects, and treated them as such.

"What news do you bring?" He demanded more than his asked.

"Mentor Kyle, sir, the envoy you sent to the wealthy politician in Boston… they're, erm…"

"Yes?"

"They're both dead sir."

Once more Kyle's face went purple with rage and trembled violently, his hands held in fists by his sides were trembling as well. The messenger was about to speak again but he stuttered on the first letter. All that came from his mouth was bubbles of blood as they leaking into his windpipe. He looked down and the last thing the hapless messenger saw was Kyle's hidden blade embedded in him. He crumpled to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Kyle breathed heavily and cleaned his now bloody blade on the dead messenger's clothes.

"Harold!" he called, angrily.

Harold poked his head through the door again.

"I am not to be disturbed." Kyle demanded. "And clean up this mess." He added, kicking the corpse none too gently. Nodding, the scrawny man withdrew hastily from the room once more.

Kyle spent a long time pacing his study, formulating plots and plans, letting his rage boil. That deal would have expanded his power further and would have also made him a very rich man indeed. There was a possibility that it could be Templar remnants - it could always be Templar remnants - but he knew deep down who was responsible for this. Up to that point, he didn't think it possible, but he hated Shadow even more. He would grow to get familiar with hating that man more and more.

* * *

Hours before, three assassins stalked the streets of Boston. All three had left their assassin robes back at their headquarters and instead walked around wearing civilian clothes. Fortunately, spring had come but the air was still cold and the streets icy. This gave plenty of excuse as to why the trio wore scarves wrapped around their heads, concealing the lower portion of their faces. The two younger assassins huddled together for warmth, both wearing thick fur coats, whilst the oldest (but by no means was he old) stood strong against the swirling wind and the bitter cold. The three of them walked towards a large house which had been divided into many rooms to house many people. But the owner of the building was a very wealthy politician and had claimed all of the houses for himself, much to the dismay of the poor and penniless. His favourite room was his small office at the top floor of the building. It had a wonderful view of the docks and harbour, but today, all that could be seen was the misty streets below, thick with fog. As far as assassins were concerned, a fog as thick as this was essentially a smoke bomb on a very large scale. While the politician was not yet affiliated with Templars or Assassins, Shadow's spies had uncovered that Kyle had made a proposition to him that the man had hurriedly accepted. For now, it was not assassins that guarded his house, just hired mercenaries, glorified thugs. They proved easy prey for the veteran trio. After taking out the single guard stationed at the doorway and making their way inside, the assassins took the place floor by floor, silently and systematically wiping out the garrison of the house. Fortune seemed to be with the assassins as the wife of the target and his son and daughter were all absent from the house. That avoided any 'complications.' As the made their way up the stairs to the last floor, they could hear the creak of the floorboards as the politician paced the floor before sitting heavily in a chair behind his desk. They approached the doorway that led into the office and calmly walked in, the leader even knocking softly on the door as he entered. The politician was rather oversized and his chins wobbled slightly as he glanced up from his paperwork. He had been reviewing Kyle's letter for the fourth time that morning.

"And you are?" He enquired.

"I think you know." Replied the leader of the trio, his voice deep and gruff, but not aggressive. His turned over his wrist and displayed his hidden blade and bracer.

"Ah," the fat politician replied, relaxing slightly. "I wasn't expecting you so soon."

The group stayed silent. The politician turned away from them and started searching for something in the draw behind him. He continued, visibly nervous.

"Er, Kyle sent you to protect me, didn't he? I have the title deeds to his new properties here and he can expect my full support any trials he or his associates should be 'involved' in. Where are my guards, by the way? I thought I gave them strict orders to escort you up here when you arrived."

At last, the leader replied.

"They're dead." That's all he said.

The politician cringed at this.

"A test, I suppose?" he asked as his voice cracked from the nerves. "Maybe to show me your skills to ensure me that you'll offer much better protection than those mercenaries? Either way, I suppose I should thank you. At least now I don't have to pay them."

The politician turned back to face the group, documents in his hands. The group had all removed their scarves, revealing their faces. The politician whimpered.

"I- I know your face! I know who you are!" he said, pointing a trembling finger at Jae.

"You know nothing." Snarled Shadow, plunging the hidden blade into his heart.

* * *

After the man was dead, Shadow, Jae and Horatio set to work organising the ambush for the assassin envoy that would soon arrive. First, they hid the bodies in different nooks and crannies within the house. Out of sight, out of mind. Next, they cleaned the blood from the floor before it could dry or congeal. Finally, Jae and Horatio dressed in the least bloody guards' clothes and got into position as two guards at the doorway into the house. Before long, three riders wearing long flowing assassin robes rode up to the house. As one, they dismounted. They approached the couple of guards defending the doorway, who swiftly stood to attention. A female voice from one of the guards greeted them.

"Sir! We've been ordered to escort you to our master."

The envoy nodded in acknowledgement and they led him up through the house, past empty rooms. They stood to the side as the assassins pushed past them into the office on the top floor. Sat in the chair behind the desk with his feet up on the desk was the infamous Shadow. Before the envoy could react, his two associates dropped dead next to him, the equally infamous Horatio and Jae grinning at the surrounded traitor. Taking a suicidal charge at Shadow, at least hoping to eliminate him as a threat before his life was taken, the envoy dove with his hidden blade ejected. Shadow's reactions were lightning quick. He caught the wrist of the attacking traitor and sliced through the bindings holding the hidden blade to his wrist. The man was helpless now.

"Get down on your knees." Shadow commanded.

"If you think I'm going to die on my knees, rogue, you're seriously mistaken!"

The trio of assassins laughed as the traitor looked on, confused.

"We're not going to kill you!" Shadow said, before leaning in close and whispering menacingly. "Not yet."

* * *

**2 days, 2 chapters. Now bad eh?  
**


	18. Chapter 17 - Reunion

**Chapter 17**

"You're going to scream for days." Shadow promised their new prisoner. And scream he did. A sad scream of desperation and pain. Shadow could be a terrible sadist when he needed to be. Before leaving the dead politician's house, they switched the clothes of their prisoner for the clothes of one of his bodyguards, so Kyle would believe his envoy to be dead. Kyle was completely clueless that one of his trusted agents was spilling his secrets right now. Between screams of pain and pants for breath, he blubbered his secrets and begged for mercy. Shadow had a shack built on the far side of the homestead when they first arrived for this exact purpose, so no-one else was disturbed by the sounds, but Jae heard. Years of training in silence had made her ears acute so she could hear all but the most silent assailants approaching. And she heard every tortured scream. Now she stood outside the hut, drawn to the sound like a moth to a flame. After a while of mumbled blubbering from the prisoner, silence followed before Shadow walked calmly out of the shack. As his eyes re-adjusted to the daylight, he raised a hand to his chest and lifted all fingers except the index finger, which he kept in his palm. Placing his thumb over his index finger, he pushed down, producing a loud click of the bones. Then he noticed Jae to his left, pale as her assassin robes. He walked sternly over to her and, expecting a lecture on why she shouldn't be here, she flinched as he placed a hand on her shoulder. When she opened her eyes, he was smiling affectionately at her. When he spoke, his voice was calm and reassuring.

"One thousand minus seven." He said.

"What?"

"What is one thousand minus seven?"

"Nine hundred and ninety-three?"

"Minus seven."

"Nine hundred and eighty-six."

Shadow nodded and she understood the exercise. She had to count down from a thousand in increments of seven. She didn't know why, but she trusted Shadow had a good reason for making her do it. He did it regularly. It was meant to keep you sane. Who knows if it actually did, or if it made you worse?

* * *

Sometime later, Shadow gathered all the assassins to a meeting room in the house on the hill.

"Brothers and sisters, our prisoner has spilled many secrets. We do not know everything, but we know enough. Enough to start to make a move against Kyle. We still have no idea who is loyal to Kyle, who is being deceived into working with him, and those who resisted and supported our cause. We do, however, know several of Kyle's important officers and agents. Eliminating them will weaken his hold until we can reduce his numbers enough to launch a full scale assault and retake the brotherhood." He coughed dryly. "Forgive me, my throat is rather dry. Layla, Horatio, fetch me a cup of coffee please."

"As you wish." Layla replied politely and Horatio grunted in annoyance. Both left the room and the moment they were out of earshot, Shadow spoke again, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Listen, we cannot let Horatio know, but I found out that those bastards have got his mother and father. I don't if Kyle has been torturing them, but I know there kept locked up in the mansion. I'll need some of you to stay here and make sure Horatio doesn't find out about this. The rest of you will come with me. We're launching a rescue operation."

With this, they all nodded their approval as Layla and Horatio re-joined them, carrying coffee. Shadow took the cup and sipped gratefully. He continued as though nothing had been discussed in their absence.

"We have learnt that Kyle is desperate to put us down and he has placed a colossal bounty on our heads, so we can expect a lot of heat on us from bounty hunters. So Horatio, I want you to stay here and start setting up defences, nothing too obvious, but something inconspicuous."

"As you wish."

"You make keep whoever you like here for assistance, but the rest of us are going into New York to do some reconnaissance." Shadow lied.

* * *

A few days later, in the middle of the night, Shadow, Chad, and Jae stalked through the streets, heading straight for the once friendly, now imposing, mansion that dominated a small section of land. Kyle was a scavenger and a sneaky bastard, but he wasn't stupid. The guards he placed were hand-picked from his best men and he taught as many of them as he could advance techniques. But Shadow was far superior in stealth, Chad in weapon skill, and Jae in both. Both sentries guarding a side gate fell with a scream in their throats. A scream that never reached their lips. Shadow swiftly scaled the mansion with super-human speed and perched on the roof, scanning for a commander, or at least a guard with a key. He closed his eyes and focusing all of his senses, he could see so much clearer when he opened his eyes, and could tell who it was he was looking for. This was called Eagle Vision. He found the guard he needed wandering through the decorative gardens down to the west, and he appeared to meeting someone. It would seem he was taking a liking to the city's 'hidden fruits' and he fondled her gently, much to her enjoyment. Shadow slowly made his way back down to the ground, and then carefully so not to disturb the foliage, made his way around to behind the couple, where the man had his head between her breasts. She laughed haughtily and Shadow had to shield his eyes as the man's hands slid up her legs. Shadow heard the sound of flesh hitting flesh, but much to relief, it was the sound of a slap as the man pushed his luck a little too far. Shadow uncovered his eyes and saw the courtesan striding away, brushing her skirts down as she rounded a corner. The man made to stand up and call for her, but Shadow's hand covered his mouth and his hidden blade pierced his back. He dragged the body into the foliage where he had hidden behind the bench. He snatched the keys he needed from the man's belt. As Shadow walked out of the foliage, the courtesan walked back around the corner, presumably to collect payment, and she and Shadow locked eyes. Her dark hazel eyes staring into his bright green eyes. Shadow straightened up and strode over to her menacingly. She was about to scream as he approached her but he wrapped his arm around her waist and, sweeping her off her feet, he kissed her deeply, open-mouthed. She moaned and sank into it, placing her hand on the back of his head, until Shadow pulled back and she moaned at the sudden loss of contact. Shadow smiled at her and placed a finger to his lips, gesturing for silence. He pulled her back to her feet and walked off, dropping a small purse of coins before he rounded the corner, as payment.

* * *

Chad had already made his way to the basement where the intel had told them the Munsons were held. The guards were a good indication that the intel wasn't false. Here, Chad put his skills to use and slaughtered them all before they could cry for help. He walked in plain sight and engaged them all in combat. After Lauryn's death, he took a sick joy in their deaths as penance. There was no flow or fancy acrobatics to the killing, just pure ruthless death. In less than sixty seconds, ten assassins lay dead. Chad kneeled before their corpses and gave a quick prayer for Lauryn. He examined the cells for the prisoners and even he cringed at what he saw. The cruellest torture he'd seen was from Shadow, but this was in close second. Both of them were chained to the wall opposite the entrance and the room stank of piss, blood and sweat. Chad gagged on the scent. A mysterious sixth sense warned him of someone coming down the stairs and he swivelled to face the entrance and unsheathed his unfolding sword in one fluid movement, the blade spinning one hundred and eighty degrees to lock in place. Those stairs were the only way out, except a hidden path that led directly to Kyle's room, but Chad had no knowledge of that path. As a silhouette made its way cautiously down the stairs, Chad tensed, ready to strike like a deadly viper. As the figure came into view, Chad lunged forward, attempting to run his unsuspecting foe through. But as his blade went forward, it clashed with something and there was a ring of metal on metal. He felt his attacker grab his wrist behind his sword and pulled him forward using the momentum of his attempted attack. He was stopped by the cold feel of steel against his throat and he lost his grip on his custom sword. Cold eyes stared into his eyes.

"Are you always going to greet me like this?" Jae asked him.

The pair chuckled but neither moved. Chad finally felt a moment of happiness since Lauryn's death and Jae was happy to see him smile again.

"You two done clowning around?" Shadow asked menacingly striding past them, swinging the keys around his finger. They unlocked the cell and carried the two unconscious assassins out, not even bothering to hide the bodies of the dead traitor assassins. They followed the path of death that Jae had made, as her task was to clear a way out. Chad carried Mr Munson and Shadow carried Mrs Munson while Jae forged ahead to ensure they wouldn't run into any opposition. But there was no opposition, no cries of terror, no rings of alarm bells. The mansion slept on.

* * *

Mrs Munson stirred from her unconscious state as Shadow carried her on his back.

"Wha- where am I? What's going on?" she asked, her voice dry and raspy. She laboured to breathe, let alone talk.

"You're safe, Mrs Munson. You're safe." He replied as if trying to coax a baby back to sleep. He felt her smile behind him.

"You're a good kid… you're a good kid." She said as she slipped back into unconsciousness.

* * *

The bounty hunters must have followed them. They thought they'd covered their tracks well, but the bounty hunters must have an experienced tracker with them. The village was abandoned. The assassins had pulled everyone back to the docks, ready to leave at a moment's notice should the house on the hill fall. The bounty hunters had overturned two carts either side of the path leading to the house and used it as cover before firing volley after volley of musket shot at the house. Now the assassins sat on the upper floor of the house, crouched behind the bottom of the windows and firing return shots whenever they could, but those moments were few and far apart. To Shadow's horror, Jae had already been hit and fell to the ground, but luckily, the shot had only grazed her shoulder and the shock had sent her to the ground. As Shadow finished reloading his own rifle, he heard the gunfire suddenly cease. Not wanting to be led into a trap and shot down the moment he raised his head, he popped his head upwards, glanced at the bounty hunters' lines and popped back down again in a millisecond. He only saw the bounty hunters lying on the ground and this confused him. What were they playing at? He peeped once more, but this time slower but just as cautious. What he saw had indeed been correct. The bounty hunters were all on the ground. The other assassins, seeing they're most renowned assassin standing in the open, also looked over the window ledges at the enemy. Shadow vaulted the window sill and landed agilely on the ground, and approached the carts, storing his rifle in his holster on his back. There, leaning against one of the carts, spinning a bloodied blade from finger to finger, stood Jason.

"Miss me?"

* * *

**Author's Note: NEW RECORD! 3 chapters in 3 days!**


	19. Chapter 18 - Doubts

**Chapter 18 - Doubts**

In a dark room in the middle of nowhere, lit only by burning torches, six hooded figures gathered around a small round table in the centre of the room with papers gathered in a disorganised mess on it. A large white flag hung on one wall with the red Templar cross emblazoned on it. The figures stood silent, scarcely daring to breathe without the permission of the seventh figure who had yet to arrive. The all stood shifting uncomfortably in the awkward silence. When the seventh figure arrived at the room, he was joined by a large imposing figure of a slim man. The seventh figure spoke with confidence in a booming voice.

"Welcome brothers. For too long have we been hiding in the dark, forced to scurry from hiding place to hiding place. Hunted down like dogs by those vile assassins. But recently, in a bizarre twist of fate, the assassins have engaged each other in a costly civil war. Both sides are now very weak and we would be foolish not to press this advantage. Like the phoenix, we Templars shall rise once more. We will send a message to them that we shall never die, and that they can never kill us."

As he said this, the slim man made his way around the table, behind the robed figures. He stopped behind one. Oblivious, the one he stopped behind asked the seventh figure a question.

"How will we send a message?"

"Like this." The seventh figure replied as the slim man turned the figure to face him and lifted the man off his feet, his hands clasped tight on his throat. The man coughed and spluttered as he failed to draw in breath. The seventh figure smiled with glee and the slim man stood emotionless as he slowly strangled the man. Within seconds, the man had turned blue and his eyes bulged as his struggling became weaker. In the following seconds, the struggling stopped and the man went limp in the slim man's strong hands. He released his grip and the man dropped lifelessly to the floor. Kyle's hidden agent had died from strangulation.

* * *

As was common these days, Kyle flew into a terrible rage. He stormed back and forth across his study, angrily pacing. As he passed the desk, he threw the papers on it across the room and they fell slowly like over-sized, square snowflakes. Harold lay whimpering in the corner of the room, a large purple bruise dominating the left side of his face; a mark to display where Kyle had burst into a rage. The surviving assassins that fought against him were causing him no small amounts of trouble. He had been so stressed as of late that he was turning more and more to drink as a solution. Not only had the assassins broken into the mansion right under his nose, killed several of his best assassins and freed essential prisoners, but a long-term undercover agent he had planted years ago into the Templar order had been found dead in the early hours of the morning, his neck showing severe bruising and his body had been dumped into an alleyway like nothing but rubbish. Kyle took another swig of his bottle of whiskey as he stormed passed and threw the now empty bottle at a wall the shattered pieces of glass raining down on the prone figure of Harold. As Kyle came to a stop in front of him and stared at him, the scrawny man whimpered again and curled himself into a ball to cushion himself for the blows that would probably rain down on him. But Kyle didn't strike him. He snarled at him and walked back to the other side of the rom, disgusted. Harold uncurled slightly and saw his master walking away again. When he had first been recruiting by Kyle, he was amazed by his skills and held a deep respect for him. When Kyle had three assassins rescue him, he was massively thankful, and held him in the highest esteem. But now, the scrawny man known as Harold was beginning to doubt if his loyalty was worth risking his life. If the assassins or Templars didn't kill him, he was almost certain his master would.

* * *

The nine assassins sat at the dining room table in the house on the hill, enjoying their evening meal. Mr and Mrs Munson had recovered rapidly from their torture at Kyle's hands and within a matter of weeks, they had regained a lot of the weight they had lost in Kyle's 'care.' Under Shadow's strict regime, they swiftly got back into fighting shape and honed their skills to their former sharpness, though both agreed that as they were both pushing forty years of age, they were getting too old for this. Horatio had been over-joyed when the three assassins had returned carrying his parents. While he had been mad at Shadow for not telling him, we understood his reasoning and the bounty hunter attack had pushed it from his mind. They were all engaged in a friendly chat between one another. Horatio was talking to his parents, Jae and Shadow were talking and Layla spoke to Will as Chad spoke to himself. Jason sat silently, sipping his tea and listening to others' conversations. He found it strangely relaxing and he closed his eyes peacefully. Then the whole mood changed. Jae asked Shadow a question that had been on her mind for a very long time. Everyone heard it.

"Shadow," she asked "Why are you so protective of me?"

The whole room went silent, a few people even stopping mid-sentence. Chad stopped his incoherent chattering and spluttered on his drink. Jason's eyes shot open and he sat bolt upright. Everyone stared straight at Jae. Her cheeks burned red from all the stares. Shadow sighed deeply and nodded solemnly to Jason. He understood the signal.

"Alright everyone," Jason called, "How about we all go and sit by the fire?"

Sensing the tone of his voice and the atmosphere of the room, they all rose from their chairs and left the room, all except Jae and Shadow. They didn't move. Once everyone had gone and it was just those two, Shadow sighed again before beginning the tale.

"Look, Jae, first of all, I'm not going to lie to you anymore. Just know that I had to lie to you and God knows I wish I didn't have to."

She gave him a questioning look. He couldn't meet her gaze. He continued.

"Jae, your parents, they both died when you were very young so I doubt you know much about their life before you. Your father, Sheamus, was an excellent helmsman and he served a decent life as a sailor in the King's Royal Navy. He spent some years as a privateer and it was there that he met the Templars. He did not know who they were at first, only that they were very powerful and very rich. He served them for a time, blindly following their instructions, until he discovered what monsters they truly were. When he learnt of their quest for world order and enslavement, he turned his back on them. A dangerous move to make but it was the best he could do for his wife back home and his darling little daughter who had just been born. You, Jae. From there, he encountered assassins who, learning of his departure from the Templars wanted to recruit him and use his knowledge of the Templar order against them. He was obviously cautious after his time with the Templars, but when we offered him protection for his wife and daughter, he agreed immediately. For several months we trained him and he made many friends within our order. But he knew that committing himself to our cause was a lifelong decision. In the case that he would die before he could see you grow up, he named his most trusted friend as your godfather, to protect and nurture you until you could defend yourself."

Jae stared at him, aghast. She had no idea that she had a godfather. Who was this man? Was he alive? It was now that Shadow looked her dead in the eyes. His usually cold green eyes stared into hers, full of regret.

"I'm sorry, Jae"

* * *

"Shadow!" Sheamus called as he jogged over to his best friend. "It is good to see you again!"

Shadow, usually cold and indifferent, never speaking more than necessary, could not help a grin spreading across his face. The two embraced each other as close friends with several not-too-gentle pats on each other's backs. They broke the bear hug and Sheamus spoke again.

"Shadow, my friend, I need a favour."

"Go on." Was Shadow's only reply.

"You see, my daughter's growing up and I am by no means a deadly assassin yet, such as yourself."

"You show potential."

"That as may be but I am approaching forty and you are but eighteen."

The pair chuckled. Recovering, Sheamus continued.

"The point is, I'm a father and though I have pledged my life to the assassins, I wish for my girl to grow up and thrive. I want her to be safe. Would you do me the honour of…"

"Yes…"

"…of being the godfather of my daughter, Jae. She means the world to me and I don't want her or my wife in any kind of danger."

Shadow regarded his friend for a second before replying.

"You have my word." He promised. Soon after, Sheamus left on another voyage. The last voyage he would ever take.

* * *

Shadow and Jae stared into each other's eyes, both blurry with tears. For Jae, she had learnt of her father's past and that she had a godfather. And for all of those years, her tormented guardian angel had been hiding the secret that he was her last remaining family member. For Shadow, he had revealed the secret that he had hidden for many years and he had relived a memory that he fought so long to forget. After a moment's awkward silence, the pair embraced each other, not as associates, not as friends, but as family.

* * *

The other seven assassins all sat in chairs in silence near the roaring fire. Jason and the Munsons knew Shadow's secret, but Chad, Will, Layla and Horatio had no idea. Those who knew wouldn't tell those who didn't, as it was not their place to tell. They all sat watching the fire, sipping drinks. They hoped Jae was taking the news well.

* * *

Grey storm clouds rolled over New York and the assassin mansion. Ernie Edwards looked up from his training, his grip on his spear slipping. He took a nearby cloth and wiped his hands and the shaft of the spear. It was drenched with sweat. He took it upon himself to train harder, feeling that the absence of his training instructor, Will, and the new regime set out by Mentor Kyle had severely weakened the assassins as their quality of training decreased and the new recruits were not hand-picked and showed no signs of potential like before. It seemed as if Kyle was acting out of desperation. Ernie of course knew, because Kyle made it pretty clear, that Shadow, Will, Chad and Jason had all betrayed the order and had allegedly killed Lauryn and many other assassins in their betrayal. But something just didn't seem right for Ernie. Something just didn't click into place. '_Those five were always very close, so why would the four of them kill one of their closest friends? Did she uncover their plot but remained loyal to the order? Was that why she had to be silenced?'_ Rain began to fall as he had those thoughts, but he mentally shrugged and continued his training, getting drenched in the sudden downpour. '_Something just isn't right.'_

"Ernie!" Liam Cowman yelled, still the hulking mass of muscle he was when he first arrived. "Get your arse inside! It's raining!"

"Obviously." Ernie muttered under his breath. Picking up all the equipment he had been using to train, he jogged inside. He stopped in the doorway, suddenly pondering on his own thoughts. _'What was I thinking again?'_

* * *

**Author's Note: Hey guys, this makes it 4 chapters in 4 days, but sadly, I think that's going to be it for this week. Expect similar upload times next week though.**

* * *

**Coming Soon: The Jason Memoirs**

**Learn the origins of the mysterious Jason**


	20. Chapter 19 - Broken Parts

**Chapter 19 – Broken Parts**

Have you ever wanted to curl up into a ball and cry? Have you ever wished that as you curl into a ball you would shrink until you ceased to exist? Have you ever thought about ending it all?

I have.

-Shadow, excerpt from his journal.

* * *

In the following days, Shadow and Jae spent much time together as he told her tales of her father before he died. Shadow and Jae had always been close, but with Shadow's secret finally out in the open, the pair became even closer than before. They became in-separable. But at the end of each day, they were complete opposites. Jaw would return to the comfort of her room and Shadow would retire to the dark confines of the basement. Sometimes, it was complete silence down there. Sometimes, the whole house could hear weeping. No one ever knew why: he sealed himself inside. In truth, Shadow had been a tormented angel too long. For too long had he harboured pain and grief within himself. For too long had he pondered all the poor choices of his loved ones. And with the recent return of emotions when he told Jae his secret, he was ready to die.

Shadow wept for all he had lost. He wept for those he knew he would lose. He wept for everyone. For everyone... except himself.

Jae and the other assassins were clueless to Shadow's pain. They had no idea what he was going through. He didn't care though. He tried his best to keep it hidden. No had ever cared. When he was naught but a boy, he felt as though his parents hated him, his friends hated him and everyone around him hated him. It was this that made him leave his family home in England when he was only young. He ran away at only eight years of age. And from that day on, he fought to survive, with no reason to live.

* * *

Over time, Kyle had been brainwashing the assassins into fighting for him and kill Shadow and the others. He would send assassins who knew of his treachery but remained loyal to him to assassinate prominent figures in the Americas, then place the blame of their deaths to Shadow and the others and in doing so turned their former friends against them. Liam Cowman was one such man. He was a hulking giant but he was not brainless. Kyle had to put a lot of work into deceiving him, but Kyle had the charms of a peacock but the talons of a hawk. Eventually, Liam broke from the constant propaganda and became solely loyal to Kyle. And he served Kyle as chief of his guards, the promotion boosting his rapidly growing ego. Day by day he walked the halls of the mansion demanding more and more respect from those around him. Only Ernie tried to treat him as an equal. They had been best friends for years, but Kyle's silver tongue had changed him. Liam's ego wouldn't accept being equal with anyone besides Kyle, even his best friend should show respect. As a result, Ernie would try his best to stay away from him, even going so far as to accept any contract available to be away from the mansion. One such contract completely shifted the balance of power in the three-way war. He took on a solo mission to assassinate a man who had formerly been a surgeon. Apparently, he was adamant that he was the best surgeon in the New World, so he would drug courtesans, kidnap and then operate on them. Every last one of them died. His sick ways had to end. Little did Ernie, or anyone else at the mansion, know but the 'renegade' assassins had also heard of this man, and had sent their own agent of death to end him.

* * *

Within a matter of hours, Ernie had traced his targets whereabouts, located him, and ended him. Now his quarry lay still at his feet in a wide alleyway as Ernie placed a foot on his back and yanked his spear free. As he stumbled back slightly from the sudden lack of resistance as it came free, he saw a dark figure drop from the rooftops directly onto him. He quickly shifted his spear into a horizontal position, using the shaft to protect himself as he recovered. The figure landed with both feet on the shaft, and jumped backwards off it, performing a backflip and landing to stand opposite Ernie. As the pair faced each other off, Ernie got a good look at his opponent. He wore jet black assassin robes with scarlet highlights. A black cloth concealed the lower portion of his face, so only the deep, penetrating gaze of his bright green eyes could be seen. On his back was a heavy French Bastard sword, which he now unsheathed and lower into a ready stance, never breaking eye contact. Ernie readjusted his own spear into a different ready stance, ready to meet the oncoming attack. He weighed up his odds. He had no idea who this man was so he had no idea of how skilled he was. The man's sword would be lethal but it wouldn't be the fastest to attack with, giving his lightweight spear an advantage. He would have to dodge the mysterious man's sword and quickly attack an opening before retreating back to a safe distance. He would definitely have to dodge. He couldn't use his spear to directly block as the heavy sword would cleave the ash shaft in two. If he angled the block right, however, he could make the blow glance off and slide down, exposing the enemy to a counterattack. Realising this, he changed his grip on the spear, holding it so the spearhead was directly in front of his hand and the majority of the staff behind his arm. The pair began to circle each other. Both waited for the other to make the first move. The swordsman moved first, swinging his sword in a two-handed overhead chop. Ernie raised his spear in defence, angling it so the blow was guided off-course and the momentum of the blow combined with the weight of the sword embedded it into the ground. Seizing the advantage before his opponent could recover, Ernie used the spear shaft to hold his own weight and jumped off the ground, using the shaft in the ground to pivot and deliver a brutal kick to the side of his opponent's head. But his opponent saw the move coming and, releasing his grip on the sword, flipped backwards and to safety. Without and connection to his opponent to slow his momentum, Ernie rotated 360 degrees before landing back on the ground facing his now unarmed opponent. Confident in his victory, Ernie attempted a horizontal strike to finish the man, but mid-blow, the man somersaulted and caught the shaft of the spear between his feet when he was upside down and when the man landed back on his feet, the spear was trapped, allowing him to twist his feet to rotate the spear, which dragged Ernie with it, leading him straight into the man's oncoming fist. The blow sent Ernie staggering to the ground, his spear forgotten and out of reach. The man sat astride him using his knees to pin Ernie's arms down. With one hand the man engaged his hidden blade and raising it to strike Ernie and with the other hand he pulled down the cloth mask to reveal his face.

"Your training seems to have been forgotten in the time we've been away." Shadow remarked.

"You bastard!" Ernie shouted at him. "You've killed those you once called friends, traitor!"

"I see that Kyle has wasted no time or effort turning you all against us." Shadow replied calmly.

"Go ahead and kill me if you want! You've killed friends of mine and I've got nothing left to live for!"

"No." Shadow replied as his hidden blade slid back into its sheathe with a slight rasp as the blade rubbed the bracer. Standing, Shadow dragged Ernie to his feet with him by grabbing his neck.

"Now you know how I've felt for every day of my life." Was the only words that Shadow spoke, before releasing his grip on his neck, walking calmly down the alleyway and retrieving his sword and returned it to its sheathe.

"Wait!" Ernie called, and Shadow stopped, looking back at him. He had raised his mask to cover his face again. "Why didn't you kill me?" Ernie asked.

"Because I gave orders to the others with me that we won't kill a single assassin who did not know that they themselves were deceived." Shadow responded.

"Deceived?"

"Yes."

"Kyle lied to us?"

"Yes."

"Master Shadow, I want to come with you. I want to fight back against Kyle."

Shadow sighed before replying. "I respect your bravery, but you are of more use to our cause where you are. Return to the mansion, act like nothing has changed. In secret, gather those that you trust most and begin to lay the seeds of a rebellion against Kyle's reign."

"As you wish." Ernie replied earnestly.

"And Ernie?"

"Yeah?"

"For the love of God get your rebels to train harder" Shadow smiled through his mask.

* * *

Ernie returned to the mansion like Shadow instructed, like nothing had happened. But, as luck would have it, who would be there to greet him at the gate but his old friend Liam.

"We need to talk." Liam said as he opened the gate to the mansion, his face stern.

"Sure. What about?" Ernie asked, acting calm but shitting himself in his head.

"That's 'sure, _sir_' to you." Liam growled.

"Okay_ sir,_" Ernie shot back, placing extra emphasis on 'sir.'

The pair walked up the pathway to the mansion and through the beautiful gardens, currently being attended to by servants. Liam led Ernie to a small private corner of the gardens. In the corner was a bench and behind the bench was foliage. This was the same spot Shadow had killed an assassin for the keys to the cells in the basement. Instead of sitting on the bench, Liam grabbed Ernie by the collar of his robes and pinned him against the wall with one big, meaty hand. He'd lifted Ernie clean off his feet. There was fire in his eyes as they bored into Ernie's eyes.

"Listen here you!" Liam spat. "I've got eyes and ears you know! I know everything that goes on in this place!"

Ernie began to sweat nervously. Liam continued.

"A little birdie told me about a potential uprising here."

Ernie was thoroughly sweating now. His spear lay on the ground by his feet, knocked out of his hands when Liam had grabbed him and pinned him against the wall.

"I've got a job for you, Ernie. I don't know who I could trust if this information is true, so I've decided to trust you."

Liam's eyes softened, his hand slowly lowered Ernie back to the ground and he spoke in a soft voice. For a second, Ernie thought he had his old friend back, but Liam's next words proved otherwise.

"Mentor Kyle might be in danger. We need to protect him. Everyone loves you, mate. Just ask around, see what you can find out. Promise me you'll tell me whatever you find out about this rebellion."

"Okay," Ernie lied, "I promise."

* * *

For the second time since the death of Lauryn, Chad smiled. He had been tinkering in the basement when Jae came down to investigate the noise. When she arrived, he spun around to face her, instantly aware. Even though he knew Shadow was away, he was still terrified of him appearing. Shadow had banned him from doing any kind of tinkering anywhere near the house. For that reason, he breathed a huge sigh of relief when he saw it was just her, before continuing with his work. Of course that made her curious and she was inquisitive enough of a person as it was. That stoked her curiosity. She asked why he was so 'on edge' and he admitted that he was banned from experimenting here after last time.

"Last time?" She asked.

"Oh boy," he sighed, knowing he'd landed himself in this situation. "Basically, a long time ago, before Connor got old, this homestead used to be the main base for us assassins in the New World. Of course, you know I love experimenting and creating new weaponry. At that particular time, I had recently developed a grenade that exploded but made fire to burn any survivors. I call it the incendiary grenade. And miraculously, it worked! In fact, it worked a little _too _well… Long story short, I burnt the house down."

Jae kept her face straight for what felt like forever. In reality, it was two seconds before her face contorted and she burst out laughing. She ended up using a wall to steady herself and clutching at her ribs as she struggled to breathe. She was laughing so hard. Chad was genuinely shocked. Every other assassin had looked at him with scorn whenever the burnt down homestead, but she just laughed. For years, he had always been sad about what he'd done, but now he thought about it, it was sort of funny. He even chuckled a bit as he smiled for the second time since Lauryn's death.

"I'm sorry." Jae said, recovering from her laughing fit and wiping the happy tears from her eyes.

"Don't be." Chad chuckled.

* * *

**The Jason Memoirs**

**Chapter 1 - Coming on Xmas Eve 2016**

**Chapter 2 and 3- Coming on Xmas Day 2016**


	21. Chapter 20 - Preparations

**Chapter 20 – Preparations**

When you have nothing left, no family, no friends, you take risks. And if you never take risks, they say you'll never get anywhere. So why do we have to lose so much to gain so little?

-Shadow, excerpt from his journal

* * *

As months flew by, Kyle's hold on the assassins began to falter. Over two thirds of the assassins still supported him, half of them knowing the truth. But the remaining third of the assassins were rebels recruited by Ernie. The rebels had yet to show their hand though and Kyle was oblivious to them. Liam had deemed it best that they should not worry their mentor if there was nothing more than a feeling to base their investigation on. As far as Liam knew, only himself, the guards under his command and Ernie knew about the potential plot. Ernie did his best to hide their presence by giving Liam false or simply no information about the uprising. Liam, for his part, seemed satisfied with the results, even though they all ended in dead ends. In secret, Ernie had gathered those most loyal to the old ways – before Mentor Kyle – which mainly consisted of those assassins who had been recruits at the same time he had been. They trained harder than Kyle's doctrine demanded and under Ernie's gaze, they flourished. The punishing training made them far superior to all but Kyle's most veteran assassins, who still honed their skills to a deadly edge. Ernie also served another purpose. He had been discreetly relaying information on numbers and movement to Shadow via Shadow's network of former thieves turned spies. This information proved crucial as it allowed Shadow and his band of assassins to strike where Kyle's forces were weak and avoid where they were strong. Day by day, Kyle's hold crumbled. They were preparing for his end.

* * *

Shadow was notorious for hiding his emotions, but he couldn't hide the glee when news had reached them from Ernie that Shadow's former ship – The Wolf – had been prowling around the coast, boarding and searching ships for any sign of assassin stowaways. He was looking forward to seizing his ship back again. He longed to be at the wheel of his own ship once more. He stood now on the docks at the base of the cliffs at the Davenport Homestead. Crew members were loading supplies on board and making final checks before they departed. Jae walked down the gangplank to her godfather and mentor, barely suppressing a grin as she saw Shadow's huge smile.

"How goes the final checks, captain?" Shadow called to her.

"We're all set up and ready to go!" She called back.

Shadow marched up to the ship and, as he was very superstitious (as all sailors are), he took extra care to place his right foot first on the gangplank, believing that stepping on with the right foot would lead to terribly bad luck. As he strolled up to the upper deck, Jae took the wheel and the Quartermaster yelled his orders to the men.

"Cast off, ye worms! Let's get going! Lower the main sail, into the wind! We've got work to do, lads!"

As the sail cascaded down the mast, it ballooned instantly with the strong wind and within seconds, everyone felt the Firefly slowly shift away from the docks. Some of the newer additions to the crew stumbled slightly as they did their jobs, not yet used to the steady swaying of the ship. It would be a nightmare for them if they hit a storm on this little voyage. In contrast, Shadow, Jae and the quartermaster stood strong on the ship, their bodies slowly swaying with the gentle rocking of the ship. They didn't falter. They'd sprouted good sea legs ages ago.

* * *

Jae, ever caring about her crew like a family, had feared for the new crewmates should they hit a storm while hunting The Wolf. And as lady luck would have it, the hit a storm. A big one. Even those most sure footed stumbled and collapsed. Several men had been washed overboard. Only two had been saved. Colossal waves smashed into the ship and tossed it about like a toy. High rising waves tilted the ship, sometimes to an almost vertical position. Jae stood firm, heaving the wheel of the ship this way and that to counter the storm, using every ounce of her strength. The quartermaster stood beside her, yelling a constant stream of orders to the men rushing about the deck, under a constant barrage of rain and sea water. Shadow was crouched on the deck, bracing himself against the waves and bailing water out of the ship whenever he could. As more lightning lit up the surrounding fog, he saw a silhouette in the distance. Passing the bucket he'd been using to a nearby crewmate, he leapt up onto the railing of the ship and holding onto the rigging with one hand, he scanned the area for the silhouette. Lightning struck again and he saw it. The silhouette of a ship, not far away, also braving this storm. It was a fourth rate ship of the line. It could be The Wolf, or it could have information on its whereabouts.

"Ship ho! Ship ho! Starboard side!" Shadow yelled at the top of his lungs, turning to Jae from where he stood balancing. Over the roar of the storm, his voice was barely audible, but she'd heard. She heaved the wheel around, into the direction that Shadow was indicating. As they approached, they could make out the finer details of the ship and they could see Jae's ship in return. Both ships had been pummelled by the storm, but neither had suffered too much damage. But Shadow's initial idea had been correct. After only two weeks at sea, they had located The Wolf.

"Battle-stations!" came the roar from both ships.

Sailors stopped what they were doing and began handing out muskets and cutlasses, or manning cannons or preparing boarding equipment. Both ships were so close to one another, that the sides of each hull ground against the other. The hulls screeched with the increased friction.

"Fire!" both ships demanded in unison.

Cannons roared and wood flew away in chunks as both sides fired at point-blank range. Men were struck down by cannon balls, musket shot or oversized splinters of wood that acted as large shrapnel. No side was unscathed as the two ships finished grinding against one another and began heading away from each other. Once they had moved away a little, they began to turn and circle each other. The crews of both ships reloaded their cannons as fast as they could. The Firefly loaded grapeshot as that would deal heavy damage to the crew of the enemy ship, but not do much damage to the ship itself. They did this because Shadow intended to reclaim his ship, not sink it. The crew of The Wolf, loaded cannon balls wrapping in cloth which had been soaked in oil – flaming shot. When the gunpowder exploded and propelled the shot forward, the oiled cloth would catch the flame and the shot would not only deal heavy damage to the ship, but also set fire to it, forcing less of the crew to man the cannons and more of them to fight the fire before it spread. They had the intention of sinking the ship. The Wolf was a fourth rate, so it brought more cannons to bear on Jae's smaller Firefly. As both ships fired their second volley, many of the crew of the Wolf fell down, dead or dying, whereas large holes punctured the Firefly. Fortunately, lady luck was on the side of Firefly as a large wave broke over their deck and smothered most of the flames, leaving only a few smaller fires to deal with. Knowing that they wouldn't survive a ranged battle, Firefly turned hard, angling to ram the Wolf. Wolf didn't have the speed or the manoeuvrability to avoid, so instead they hurried to fire off another broadside before the two vessels made contact. Once more, luck showed its favour as a large wave blocked the cannons from firing until Firefly was only inches away. The gunnery officer was halfway through giving to fire as the ram crashed into their hull. The connection made the Firefly bounce back slightly, making the boarding unsuccessful, but Shadow leapt through the air and onto his former ship. He rolled out of the jump, plunging his hidden blade into the stomach of an unfortunate sailor. As the man fell backwards, Shadow rose from his crouched position to stand tall. With his hood hiding his eyes, he was an intimidating figure. In one smooth movement, he drew his Bastard sword and pointed the tip at the captain of the ship. The message was clear: 'Get your bloody hands off my ship.'

As one, two sailors attempted an overhand strike at Shadow, but he raised his blade in front of him to block both strikes and the three swords met, creating an 'x' shape, with Shadow's sword holding them both in that position as a straight line down the middle. He pushed against the blades and both sailors stumbled back. He swung his sword in a large arc left, straight into the stomach of the first sailor, before pivoting on his heel and bringing the blade fluidly into an overhead strike at the other sailor, splitting his skull. Unfazed, Shadow continued to walk towards the captain. This continued all the way to him as sailors would charge, attacking Shadow, but he would kill them easily without so much as breaking his stride. He continued unhindered. After a matter of moments, Shadow was climbing the steps up to the upper deck where the captain stood terrified, drawing his sword. The captain was a veteran assassin under Kyle's employ, but he knew Shadow was a legend. He had every right to be fearful. Feeling as though offense was the best defence, he rushed at Shadow, hoping that a sudden flurry of attacks would throw Shadow off-guard and cause him to make a mistake. The number of attacks did in fact cause Shadow to parry and take steps back. Encouraged, the captain pushed forward, attacking more and more. He failed to notice that Shadow was blocking his attacks with minimal effort whereas the captain's arms were slowly tiring. Soon he was exhausted and Shadow circled him having scarcely broken a sweat. Out of desperation more than anything, the captain drew his pistol and fired at close range at Shadow's face. However, Shadow's reflexes were on-point, and he tilted his head slightly and the small metal ball missed its target, but it did scratch his cheek, drawing blood. The captain smiled at the fact that he'd at least hurt the legend, but the smile quickly faded as Shadow set his eyes upon him. Now Shadow was pissed off. Punching the pistol out of his hands and punching him once across the face, Shadow then dragged the captain back to the upper deck. He then roughly shoved the head of the captain in front of the ship's swivel gun. The captain died whimpering and blubbering for his life as Shadow fired. The captain's cries for mercy had fallen on deaf ears.

* * *

Shadow had recovered his ship, Liam had set up and rebellion and they had weakened Kyle's support. Their preparations were complete.

* * *

**Author's Note: This chapter is dedicated to my good friend Tyler. Hope you feel better soon, bro. **


	22. Chapter 21 - The Final Assault

**Chapter 21 – The Final Assault**

Yeah. She's smiling. But don't let that fool you. Look into her eyes. She's breaking inside.

-Shadow, talking about losing Lucy

* * *

"Those bastards think they can stop us? They have no idea what true assassin might is! They know not what strength we have! They will break upon our defences like waves on the rocks!" Kyle yelled at all the assembled assassins in the courtyard. All of them were assembled here, prepared to fight against Shadow and his assassins, to the bitter end. Ernie and his rebels stood with them, not yet revealing their true allegiance. Kyle was stood on a balcony overhanging the courtyard and Liam, his most trusted bodyguard, stood beside him silently. Ernie thought to himself through Kyle's speech.

'_Where has our hope for a free world gone? Where has the true assassin way gone. They have passed like rain on the mountain, like wind in the meadow_'

* * *

Shadow's plan was simple. He and Jae would use their ships to bombard the mansion's docks and would accompany a small party to the docks under the bombardments protection. He had taken steps so that none of Ernie's men would be on the docks, and therefore in danger, throughout the assault. Chad, Will, Mr. and Mrs. Munson and Horatio would take the main gate and secure it, before pushing through to the mansion. Jason was to take the side gate and Layla was to join up with Ernie to give him objectives; Kyle had recently stopped all contracts and withdrew everyone to the mansion, so he could bring his full strength to the defence of his mansion… and his life. And so, when the sun was directly up in the sky, the first cannon shots rained upon the docks. Splinters of wood the size of a man's arm flew through the air, bricks smashed into dust and choked those around the docks. Some men lost arms. Others lost legs. Most lost their life.

* * *

Will and his team approached the main gate, unsheathing their weapons. Will unslung his heavy axe. Chad flicked his hidden sword and the blade rotated in two segments before locking in place. Mr. and Mrs. Munson engaged their hidden blades and Horatio unslung his own bearded axe. The guards behind the gate cowered and unsheathed their own weapons as the team of legendary assassins marched closer.

"Ready your weapons!" the commanding officer yelled.

The first rank of guards kneeled and aimed their muskets and the rank behind stood and aimed their weapons. The approaching assassins stopped and Chad took a bite out of an apple and rolled the remainder towards the gate. It came to a stop at the base of the gate.

"Ready," the commander assassin ordered, "Fire!"

The apple exploded and the gate blew open and the assassin who were about to fire were launched backwards as the air filled with black smoke and dust. With the gate now open and the guards all injured on the ground, the assassin team continued advancing into the mansion. Chad spoke to the incapacitated assassins as he passed.

"Knock, knock." He said calmly, but without an inch of humour in his voice.

Layla and Jason had taken the side gate with equal ease and Layla ran to the mansion, swiftly scaled the walls and from the roof she scanned the mansion grounds for Ernie and his rebels.

* * *

"Come on, this way!" Liam ordered as he led Ernie and his squad of assassins. "We have to reinforce the main gate!"

Ernie stopped and so did his squad. Liam took several more strides before looking back and noticing that they had all stopped.

"What are you doing?" he called, "We've got to get moving!"

Ernie stayed mournfully silent.

"Listen here, you!" Liam began as he strode back to them.

As one, Ernie and his squad drew their weapons. Liam was perplexed.

"I'm sorry old friend," Ernie said solemnly. "But you have been blindly deceived by Kyle and it cannot continue."

"You lying bastard! I'll kill you all!" Liam withdrew his own weapon, a two handed morning star (a stick with a spiked ball on the end, connected by a chain), and charged the assassins. Ernie had been honing his reflexes and he had a distinct speed advantage. He dodged the initial blow with contempt.

"Go, all of you." Ernie told his squad. "I'll handle this. Help the others into the mansion."

The squad ran back the way they came and Liam and Ernie glared at each other. Slowly, they began to circle each other. Ernie saw his dear old friend, and prayed that he needn't kill him. Liam saw a vile traitor who he despised and he relished the chance to end his pathetic existence.

"Why do this?" Liam spat.

"Kyle is the true traitor. You've been deceived! Can you not see in your naivety?"

"Enough!" Liam yelled swinging his weapon around in a vicious horizontal strike.

Ernie brought his spear around to block it, and there was a distinct knock of wood on wood. But Ernie had underestimated the weapon. The chain meant that the wood had stopped by the spiked ball continued on its path. Ernie's arm felt like it had been set alight as the spiked ball smashed into his arm, puncturing his arm and breaking it. Ernie was sent flying in the opposite direction from the force of the blow. His spear was now out of his reach. He crawled awkwardly over to a wall before propping himself up into a sitting position against it, clutching his broken arm. Liam approached him slowly, like a predator savouring the meal to come.

"All this could have been avoided" he said "if you'd only stayed loyal to the true cause."

"I am loyal to the _true_ cause, brother!" Ernie yelled back, springing to his feet. He scrambled up the way slightly before leaping backwards at his former friend. He raised his good arm and attempted to punch Liam on the way back down to earth, but Liam caught the fist. Ernie used his momentum to vault him and landed with a roll, and sprinted to his spear. Gathering up his weapon, he held it awkwardly in one hand. The other hung limp and lifeless by his side. Panting ragged breathes, Ernie began approaching Liam once more. Liam, in comparison was hardly breaking a sweat, but was red with rage. Liam charged towards Ernie with a roar and Ernie stumbled quickly towards him in silence. The morning star swung. The spear thrust. One of them collapsed.

* * *

Shadow and Jae stood at the prow of the row boats as crew members armed to the teeth propelled them to the ruined docks. As the boats grounded on the broken planks of wood, Shadow and Jae leapt up on the docks. All around them was dead and dying assassins. Some were groaning loudly in agony. The crew members put them out of their misery. Shadow and Jae just observed the carnage. How could something cause so much destruction and misery? What monster could do this? In the distance, they heard the sounds of gunshots and heavy combat. They sprinted in that direction.

* * *

Ernie's rebels had trained hard and trained well, but they had been unfortunate enough to run into Kyle's most elite warriors, and many of their number fell. The rebels were close to falling back in a full retreat when Shadow and Jae sprung into the combat. Kyle's best men were good, but they were like teething puppies biting their owners' fingers compared to the two legends. Before long, they all lay dead, Shadow and Jae having nothing but a few scratches in return.

"Thank you, Master Shadow and Miss Jae. We are eternally grateful."

Shadow nodded in acknowledgement and Jae smiled broadly.

"Take your men and secure all the escape routes." Jae commanded. "Let no-one escape."

"Yes, miss." The leader of the survivors said, before they all rushed off. Shadow raised a single eyebrow in response to her taking her command.

"What?" she asked, grinning. He grinned and shook his head, amused.

* * *

Chad hated killing other assassins, it felt wrong. So he released his full carnivore, and no-one held his blood rage back. He slaughtered the traitors where they stood, most not even having a chance to fight back. He received grievous wounds from some opponents, but he was completely unfazed. His eyes were completely red and he didn't feel any pain. He didn't feel anything. Only the thirst for blood. Mr and Mrs Munson stayed at the main gate to stop any traitors from escaping, but Will and Horatio progressed with Chad, protecting his exposed flanks and cleaning up any survivors. Now they had reached the steps leading up to the main door into the mansion. Chad strolled up the steps, two at a time, while Horatio and Will stood facing away from the door at the base of the steps, defending Chad. Chad hesitated and stopped in front of the door. He took several steps back before running full-pelt at the door, smashing through the oak door and the two guards who'd prepared to ambush him behind it.

"Special delivery!" He yelled, his voice emitting a sick joy at the pain and suffering. This was a side effect of Carnivore. He wasn't himself. He was Carnivore. He threw three throwing knives in the direction of the grand staircase, straight in front of him, and three hidden assassins dropped dead from their hiding spots. Chad then stepped back and raised his knee as another assassin performing an air assassination on him missed their mark and their face colliding with his raised knee. Their skull shattered in the front as they died instantly from the impact. Shadow and Jae strolled into Chad's view from the shadows, amused at his effective killing spree. Chad growled at them, drooling at the mouth.

"Now," said Shadow "Let's find that fucker and finish this."

* * *

When the three assassins burst into Kyle's study, weapons at the ready, they were surprised to see no sign of Kyle in the room, but instead they saw Jason, examining a wall. He turned to face them momentarily, before losing interest and returned to studying the wall.

"What on earth are _you_ doing here?" Shadow asked, confused.

"Kyle's no longer here." Jason replied, stating the obvious. "But I think I've found something."

"What?" Shadow demanded, getting impatient at his calm and non-caring manner.

Jason pushed a panel on the wall and a segment rotated on its centre ninety degrees, revealing a hidden passage.

"Hello." Said Shadow, peering into the darkness.

The four assassins entered the passage. Without a torch to light the way and guide them, they stumbled blindly in the darkness. They each trailed a hand along the wall, reassured by its presence. The darkness was looming and threatened to swallow them whole. As claustrophobia began to worm its way to them, they finally came to a dead end. Using his surreal strength, Jason pushed against the dead end, and slowly, it began to shift and rotate. Eventually, it stopped resisting and spun into position quickly, sending Jason stumbling forward. The four appeared in the basement where months ago, they had broken the Munsons out of their cells. Had they known that there was a secret passage to Kyle's study at the time, they would have taken the opportunity to end him. It mattered little now. Kyle had escaped.

* * *

After the mansion had been secured by the loyalist assassins, Shadow and Jason had every assassin scour the mansion for any sign of Kyle or the scrawny man known as Harold. They had no luck. It was as if they had completely disappeared. They had found Ernie while looking for Kyle. He was propped up against a wall, his arm broken, cradling Liam's lifeless head in his lap. He wept for his lost friend.

Jason knew the scrawny man. He had a very personal revenge in store for him. He had an idea where he may have gone, so mounted a horse and rode for the frontier. It was a long shot, but it could be possible. Frustrated at the lack of success at the mansion, Shadow risked sending men out to the streets, watching and listening for any intel on Kyle. He spent the following days pacing the hallways, and in the nights we would prowl the streets and rooftops looking for any sign of Kyle. It was days before they heard anything. It wasn't even any concrete information, but it was a lead. They'd caught one edge of the thread. All they needed to do now was pull. And man fitting Kyle's description had been said to be asking around for mercenaries and offering a large payment for their services. It had to be him.


	23. Chapter 22 - The End of a Tyrant

**Chapter 22 – The End of a Tyrant**

Depression is living in a body that fights to survive with a mind that tries to die

-Shadow

* * *

Many years ago, after Jason encountered the artefact that was now bound to him, he took passage aboard a ship to England during his self-exile. Being a native American, he was not the most welcome in England, but he did manage to find work and a place to stay. While he would never be respected or seen as an equal amongst the others who worked with him, his strength, hard work and dedication meant that they recognised his value as a worker. His strength also opened doors to him for some other, less legitimate business operations. He became a bruiser for the company he worked for. It was on one such assignment that he encountered a group of men who had clearly had one too many beers and were being rather forward with a small group of three girls, despite their advances being constantly denied. Jason, ever the moral hero, couldn't help but get involved. After several moments, all the drunk men lay unconscious on the ground and Jason, who had tied a scarf around his face to hide his identity, stood victorious. As the girls gave him their thanks, one of the attackers pulled out a knife and stabbed Jason in the ribs. The girls screamed and Jason grunted in pain before disarming the man with the cobra fangs that leapt from his hand and delivering a brutal kick to render him unconscious. In the sudden surprise attack, Jason's scarf had slipped and his face was revealed. Only one of the girls noticed his face before he fled back into the night.

Weeks later, the girl who saw his face had tracked Jason down. Being a native American in England made her job fairly easy. The two met and continued to meet on regular occasions, eventually resulting in their joyous marriage, even getting the consent of her parents despite his nationality. In that time, Jason had become very successful, even opening his own tavern named 'The Black Cobra' after his tattoo. Once, before they had been married, a group of men had begun terrorising the local area and they had been some of the men Jason had beaten up in the past. Furious and desperate for revenge, they attacked and burned down his tavern. He took his own revenge and killed them all, before deciding to flee back to America. It was in their time in America that they had gotten married at the young age of twenty. Soon after, they had a child. A daughter named Lily.

Jason set up another tavern there, but someone in America had a personal vendetta against Jason and burnt down his tavern, much like had happened in England. They had kidnapped his family in the carnage and Jason flew in a feral rage. He used all his skills to track them, but he was too late. He followed the tracks to a cliff, and at the bottom, lay his wife and daughter, their bodies mangled by the fall.

* * *

"Let me go after him." Chad begged.

"No, I won't put anyone alone in danger. We do this together." Shadow replied.

"Please. That bastard was the one who ordered Lauryn's death. Please let me do this."

"If I let you do this. You promise not to die, and that you'll shut up."

"Yes, of course."

"Then fine, you can go. But you know you'll probably die."

Chad grinned at him. "You first." He said.

"Famous last words." Shadow replied dryly.

* * *

Jason walked slowly through the bushes, his bare feet cushioning his footfalls against the dirt. He emerged at a clearing, at the top of a large, steep cliff. The scrawny man stood at the edge of the cliff, expecting him.

"You! All those years ago it was you!" Jason yelled, his anger rising.

The scrawny man acted as though he was uninterested in Jason, and casually tossed a small stone off the cliff. He watched it roll and tumble before bouncing at the bottom, barely visible. Jason gritted his teeth and clenched his fists at his sides.

"How many years has it been now?" asked Harold, the scrawny man. "How many years have you been alone, without your beloved family?"

Jason engaged both his hidden blades.

*snick*

Harold looked up at the sound, but showed little interest.

"All these years, I believed that they had been killed by a Templar agent as revenge for what I did in England, but all along it was you! An _assassin!_" Jason yelled, getting angrier and angrier.

Before Harold could say a word in reply, Jason charged forward for the kill. Harold may have been scrawny, but he was still an assassin and he slipped past the blow made clumsy by his attacker's rage. He withdrew his own sword and prepared to fight back. For several minutes the two traded blows, each inflicting equal wounds on the other. Eventually, both ended up the same positions they started, albeit slightly worse for wear. Both breathed ragged, deep breaths. Harold laughed at the top of his voice.

"You know, Jason, I've enjoyed this, but it isn't nearly as satisfying as throwing your poor, poor family over the edge here." He grinned. Jason flicked his wrists and his hidden blades slid back into their sheathes.

"There was something amusing about their crumpled bodies." Harold continued, grinning broadly, "Maybe you should join them."

Jason let out a roar as he charged at Harold. Harold dropped his sword and unsheathed two pistols hidden in holsters in his boots. He fired one shot and hit Jason directly in the right shoulder. Jason's shoulder whipped back, but still he charged forward. Startled at the lack of effect on Jason, Harold fired his second shot, hitting Jason square in the left shoulder. Again, his shoulder whipped back from the impact but he didn't break his stride. Jason's roar continued. Harold's eyes went wide as Jason tackled him and both men went soaring over the cliff. For several moments, they felt weightless in the air, before the cold hard ground came rushing up to meet them.

* * *

Kyle had hired several mercenaries and all were equipped with muskets and were stationed on rooftops surrounding a large tower. Kyle stood on the roof of that tower. He knew his actions of hiring the mercenaries would not go un-noticed, so he did not care if he was broadcasting his location. He would gun them all down. But no large assassin group came after him. They only sent one assassin. They only sent Chad.

Chad did not kill the mercenaries on the roofs. He didn't need to. His only target on this day was the man who'd ordered the death of Lauryn: Kyle. So when he began to scale the large tower where Kyle stood, the mercenaries all open fired on him, and chunks of the tower were blown off all around him. On the positive side, this made plenty handholds to help him scale it faster. Several shots got lucky, hitting him in the hands, legs, arms and even the torso, but still he climbed on, though with every hit, he climbed slowly and slipped more frequently. Eventually, he crawled over the ledge at the top of the tower, blood pouring from his body. Kyle was waiting, his sword drawn and ready. With a large amount of effort, Chad rose and flicked his hidden sword free. He swayed as he stood, uncertain on his own legs. Kyle delivered an overhead chop which Chad parried, albeit very clumsily. Kyle followed up with an underhand slash, which tore Chad's sword from his grip and sent it skittering towards the edge. Kyle spun on his heel and whacked Chad in the side of the head with the pommel of his sword. Chad went down. After several moments with a groan, Chad rose painfully slowly to his knees. Kyle gave him a vicious kick to the head and Chad went down again.

"You know," Kyle said, "You always were a reckless assassin. You've never had what it takes to be an assassin."

Chad groaned and rose to his knees once more, before pushing himself up to stand. He coughed up a glob of blood before he replied.

"That may be, but I'm still here. I'm still standing."

Kyle got frustrated at this and slashed Chad twice across the chest before kicking him squarely in the chest, sending him backwards onto the ground. Chad coughed up more blood. Using the railing on the edge of the tower, he pulled himself up and stood before Kyle again. Still unarmed, but still standing.

"Face it, Kyle." He said as more blood escaped his lips. "You can put me down as many times as you want, but I won't stay that way. Not until you've paid for what you've done."

Kyle ran his sword straight through Chad's stomach, causing Chad to double over, his head bowed. Kyle withdrew his sword from its wet, dripping sheathe in Chad's stomach and pointed a flintlock pistol at his head.

"Why won't you just fucking die?!" He screamed at Chad.

Chad just chuckled, drawing up even more blood.

"You first." He said, as he grabbed Kyle's wrist and lept off the edge. Kyle screamed all the way down, until his screams were cut off with a sickening crunch.

* * *

Later in the day, the authorities found Kyle's destroyed body in a heap, all of his bones broken and his neck jammed into the back of his skull. All of the mercenaries had disbanded and gone their separate ways as they knew they were no longer getting paid on account of the man who hired them being a heap at the base of the tower.

The assassins never saw or heard from Chad or Jason. They assumed the worst had happened. With the way recent events had gone, things were not looking good. Kyle had left the assassins divided and weak and allowed the Templars to regain lost power. Though Shadow tried to remain optimistic. They had heard that the Templar sought to invest in and create their own navy. So far, they had only claimed one ship but that could be seized or sunk if the assassins acted swiftly enough. Shadow and Jae decided that after necessary repairs had been done on their ships, they would set sail and attack the Templar ship before they could acquire more. Will decided to take on a solo mission to eliminate Templar presence on land. Ernie had been elected as the leader of the assassins in the absence of Will and Shadow. Horatio had been placed in charge of training the assassins back to the former standards and Layla was in charge of finding new assassin recruits to replenish their lost numbers. While they operated out of the mansion, which was now receiving repairs, the headquarters of the assassins was still the newly reborn Davenport Homestead. Soon, Jae and Shadow got their journey underway and set sail, staying close to the coast so that they would see if the Templars tried to flee in their new ship.

* * *

When they found the ship, it was anchored off the docks of Boston. To their surprise, it made no attempt to flee. They were surprised, however, at what class of ship the Templars had procured. Facing them was a colossal first rate ship-of-the-line. One hundred and four guns on both broadsides, mortars, and small puckle guns for closer ranges. Both Jae and Shadow both went pale at the sight. They both had a mission to do, though, and so with great reluctance, they steered their ships to engage the enemy vessel.

In the meantime, in Boston, Will walked calmly through the streets, his axe held ready in his hands, his robes flowing in the wind. He wanted the Templars to know he was there. It was in an abandoned city square that he found them. As he stopped in the centre of the square, armed men blocked all the paths out and levelled muskets at him. The front ranks knelt and aimed and the second ranks stood and aimed over the first ranks' heads. All guns were levelled directly at him. He couldn't help but grin. His hood concealed most of his face, and so the grin was all they saw of his face. He was a menacing figure indeed.

"Well isn't this fun?"


	24. Chapter 23 - Grief Consumes All

**Chapter 23 – Grief Consumes All**

**Warning: The following chapter contains a scene of suicide which some reader's may find offensive or hurting. I would just like it to be known that I am not just a heartless prick. If anyone ever feels like taking their own life, please talk to someone about it immediately. No-one should have to go through the struggle alone. If someone you know is going through that struggle, be there for them, help them. You have no idea how much a simple conversation can help. Thank you.**

* * *

As Will stood alone in the middle of the small square in the city, with Templars armed with muskets blocking all possible escape routes, he decided on what he had to do. A fool's final gambit. Directly in front of him, Templars shifted apart and made way for five men on horseback who rode to the front of the lines, but still a cautious distance away from the lonely assassin. Each man bore the red cross of the Templars. These men were the Templar leadership. The smile on Will's lips grew broader. Slowly, as to not be noticed by the wary Templars, he checked his equipment. The feel of leather against his wrist, the press of the pistol against his hip, the cold kiss of steel from the throwing knives against his back and the cool embrace of the dagger wrapped onto the inside of his boot. He was ready. One man, the oldest of the five, rode slightly more forward than the rest. The assassin could tell that the man wasn't the true leader of the Templars. He was a puppet.

"Assassin!" he called. "Your kind insults us. Do we really mean so little that you only send one foolish man against us? Or does your order really grow that desperate after your little rebellion?" He grinned.

Will said nothing. He appeared to stay stock still in silence, his hood hiding his face. In truth, he was getting his equipment ready for his last strike. He'd lived a good life, made something of himself, served an order faithfully and hopefully made his parents proud. He tensed as he was about to pounce. He closed his eyes, visualised the movements in his head, calmed his breathing, loosened up his tense muscles. When he opened his eyes, quick as a flash, he threw a handful of knives from over his shoulder and, continuing the movement, he fluidly spun on his heel and drew his pistol. When he had spun in a full turn, he fired off a shot at the Templar leadership. With his other hand, he launched a rope dart at a rider and when the weapon wrapped around the Templars neck, he pulled with all his strength, sending the Templar flying toward him. As the Templar flew, time seemed to slow. Will engaged his hidden blade in one hand, and in the other, he pulled out a smoke bomb. The whole process of eliminating the Templars took mere seconds. Shocked at the lone assassin's gambit, it took the musket men several seconds to recover and fire. As their leader flew towards the assassin and the Templar footmen fired, Will threw the smoke bomb hard, directly at the ground in front of him. The bomb exploded and covered the square with a mottled grey and black smoke. No-one could see through the dense fog. The muskets had fired at the entire square, it was impossible to dodge the shots. But when the smoke cleared, there was only blood where the assassin stood, and the Templar leader lay nearby, dead. Of the assassin, there was no sign.

* * *

Mortars rained hell from above and cannon shots thundered and split the wooden ships with ease. Both the Firefly and the Wolf had sustained heavy damage, and only minimal damage had been done to the Man o' War in return. The two smaller assassin ships had a definitive speed advantage, but engaging the Templar Man o' War from the sides where it could bring its full broadside to bear was pure suicide. The two ships had been fleeing and turning to hound the Templar ship for some time. In fact, the larger ship had chased the pair of them back to the coast of New York. Here, they made their final stand. For hours they circled the ship, firing their much smaller broadsides at the bow and stern of the ship as the Templar ship tried to turn to fire upon them or catch them out. Fortunately, Shadow and Jae were very experienced sailors and captains and knew what they were doing. Finally, decided they had been hounded for long enough, the large ship went to full sail and ploughed forward, straight into the side of Firefly. Jae and all her crew braced for impact but the sheer weight of the ship sent most of them flying backwards, some stumbling into the railing on the other side. Some of Firefly's hull gave in to the Templar ship and cracked. Templars threw grappling hooks onto Jae's ship and her crew furiously chopped and sawed at the ropes, hoping to break free. But Templars leapt from above and rolled as they hit the deck of Jae's Firefly. Cutlasses drawn, they descended upon the crew. Half of Jae's crew fell before they could fight back, the remaining half managed to draw their weapons and fight back against their attackers. Jae handed the wheel to the Quartermaster and drew her own Claymore sword before jumping into the fray. Jae's crew were well experienced and fought ferociously, but they were seriously outnumbered by the Templars, and were eventually swamped by the sheer numbers. A few remained alive and were forced to their knees with cutlasses held to their throats, the quartermaster being one of these people. Only Jae remained standing, defiant to the end. The opposing crew encircled her, and she slowly turned to face each and every one of them, her sword held ready. But they did not launch an attack against her. They didn't charge forwards and overwhelm her. In fact, some of them parted and allowed the captain of the Templar ship through. The man was tall, gaunt, slim man wearing black assassin robes with red highlights. Attached to his wrists were hidden blades and he held a sword in his hands. Jae recognised him. She had seen him before. He was the man that had tried to kill her when she first arrived in the New World. He had fought Shadow before too. He had been the one that had beaten up Shadow and left him in the gutter to die. He had been the man that had once been an assassin but had turned Templar and killed Sheamus O'Clery. This was the slim man.

* * *

Shadow watched as the first rate's sails dropped and the ship surged forward. He watched as it connected with Firefly with a sickening impact. He watched as her crew were put to the sword or held captive. He saw the lone figure surrounded by Templars. A foul, black rage came over him and he steered his ship had to starboard. He angled his ship to sail at the Man o' War directly into its broadside. The entire crew braced as his Wolf flew across the waves, straight at the ship. Cannons roared and the bow of the Wolf was pummelled, but still it flew on. It would stop for nothing now.

* * *

The Templars closed the circle once again, trapping the two fighters in. Jae and the slim man began to slowly circle each other, their eyes boring into the others with pure hatred. Jae was tense and ready for anything while in comparison, the slim man was loose and smooth. He circled casually and tossed his sword slowly from hand to hand. Both fighters knew that only one of them was going to leave this circle alive. Every so often, one would make a feint forward before retreating back of reach. This continued back and forth for some time before the slim man stopped circling and spoke to Jae.

"You know," he growled, his voice deep and gruff, "I remember something similar with your dearest father. It was on this very ship, as a matter of fact. He was stood exactly where you now stand. Wouldn't that be a wonderful thing, if you were to meet him again, leaving this world in the exact same place, in the exact same way, as your poor father?"

Jae had turned purple with anger and brought her sword over her shoulder in a large overhead chop. The slim man calmly sidestepped out of the path of the killer arc and placed his sword on Jae's.

"I see the assassins have taught you nothing in the art of combat." He stated.

He strolled slowly up to Jae, his sword tracing a path along the back of her own sword. When he was less than an arm's distance away, he lifted his sword and Jae brought her own up and fluidly around into a horizontal strike. The slim man was deceptively strong and deflected the blow with one hand, before bringing a leg up to deliver a kick to Jae's chin. The blow sent her stumbling backwards and she lost her grip on her sword and it went tumbling onto the deck. Furious, she lunged forward to hit him with a punch, but he sidestepped the blow again and punched her hard in the gut.

"This, my girl, is how you deliver a proper punch." He said as he did it.

Recovering, she jumped up and brought her foot around for a kick. He blocked it with his forearm. He laughed at her before kicking her in the head.

"And this is how you deliver a proper kick." He said. "Is there anything else you'd like demonstrated?" he asked as he picked up Jae's sword and made ready to deliver the killing blow.

Suddenly, the ship rocked and trembled. The Wolf had smashed into the side of the Templar warship at full speed and the tremors had travelled across to the Firefly. The shock knocked the slim man to his feet and he dropped Jae's sword. Shadow leapt from the deck of his ship to the deck of Firefly, landing astride the slim man.

"How about a standard sneak attack?" Shadow taunted him.

The slim man brought his legs up and pushed hard with them, sending Shadow flying off him and clattering on his back on the deck. Both recovered at the same time and using daggers hidden in their boots, they clashed once again, in a bitter fight. The Wolf had begun to sink from the damage it had sustained and all of its crew leapt and swung onto the Firefly, and fought against the Templar footmen on board. Eventually, the Templars were killed or pushed back to their ship and, sensing the battle shift around him, the slim man attempted to flee with them. As he made his leap back to his ship, Shadow had grabbed a loose line of rope and swung on it, smashing into the slim man's side, sending them both onto the deck of the Wolf.

* * *

Shadow's crew joined Jae's ship and they set about cutting the rope that joined them to the Templar ship and setting sail. Soon they were free and the Firefly limped back to the mansion's harbour. To Jae's misery, the quartermaster lay dead on the deck of the ship, a blade protruding from his back and his throat slit. Jae fought back the tears and focused on making it back to the relative safety of the mansion's docks. More than three quarters of her crew were dead, and two thirds of her crew was Shadow's former crew. She asked one man to take the wheel and as he kept the Firefly on course, Jae looked back at the Wolf and the Man o' War. The Wolf was mostly underwater now and taking on water fast.

* * *

The slim man leapt back up to his feet, but Shadow was significantly slower and more pained. As he stood, the slim man saw why. A large splinter of wood, the size of a man's hand was spearing his ribs. With a pained expression on his face and a grunt of pain, Shadow pulled the splinters free and immediately covered it with his hand. Blood rapidly seeped through his fingers. With a smile that was half of joy at his pain but half of pity, the slim man lowered his sword and spoke to Shadow, staring off into the distance.

"It would seem your little girl has escaped my clutches." He said, sounding more bored than agitated.

"You… will not… hurt her…" Shadow struggled in response.

The slim man seemed to ponder on this point for some time before he replied.

"You're probably right." He said. "She should be allowed to grow and prosper. She should be allowed to get stronger and refine her art of killing. Then we'll see how she reacts when she learns the truth about her father. About how he was a Templar all along."

"You lie!" Shadow yelled as he tried to lunge forward, but gave in to the pain.

"We shall see." The slim man replied.

With much effort, Shadow rose and held his sword ready in a trembling hand. He lunged at the slim man, but he deflected the blow with ease. Again, Shadow tried to strike him, only to be deflected. Again, he tried. Again. Again. Again he tried, to no avail. Now he could barely hold his sword up and the sweat seeped into his wounds, causing him much pain. The slim man grew bored now. With a light sweep, he knocked the blade from Shadow's hand. Grabbing Shadow tightly by the throat, he turned and held Shadow against the mast. In one last ditch attempt, Shadow brought his arm up and engaged his hidden blade. He was about to bring it down when the slim man released his throat, stepped back, and dived forward with his sword. The sword slid easily through Shadow's hand and deep into the wood of the mast, pinning his arm in the upright position. Shadow yelled in pain. Amused, the slim man tapped the hilt of his sword, causing it to bounce slightly and cause Shadow even more pain. Water had begun to wash steadily over the deck and around their boots.

"The captain always goes down with his ship." The slim man said, and without another word, he left and scaled the ladder back to his ship.

* * *

Soon, the ship was pulling away from the harbour, and setting sail back for Boston. The water was around Shadow's waist now, the gentle lapping of the waves adding salt to his wound. He tried in vain to pull the slim man's sword free. He could not pull it from its place deeply embedded in the mast. He was pinned to his rapidly sinking ship.

* * *

Back at the mansion, as Firefly was being hastily repaired, Jae watched as the Man o' War sailed away, presumably back to Boston. She saw the Wolf steadily being swallowed by the waves. She knew that Shadow was dead. The slim man wouldn't be the kind to take prisoners. She knew that after he'd dealt with her, he'd planned to have her crew's throats slit. She had lost her parents at a young age, she had been thrown into a strange world that few knew of, and in recent times she had learnt of her final link to her family. And now he was dead. She had lost all of her family. She had lost the quartermaster who had been her father figure through many tough times. She broke down and cried right there on the docks. Then she retreated to her room, before she began crying again. She had lost almost everything, and all she could think about was how she never even knew Shadow's true name. She had had enough of this life, and she wanted to be with those she loved once again. And so, with a heavy heart, she mounted the chair in the centre of her room made ready to claim her own life with the rope around her neck. Tears cascaded down her cheeks. All she heard before she jumped from the chair was the 'snick' of a hidden blade.


	25. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

The animus headset powered down and I had to blink a few times to get my vision back. There was a moment of terror when I returned to my sense but found my vision blurry. Luckily, after blinking a few times, my sight returned to normal and I sat upright, groaning. I must have been in the animus for some time. The other two participants of this program were already out of their animuses (or is it animi?) and were stretching. I can't recall their names, but like me they had been selected by Abstergo for some big research project. I heard one say "Damn. That was some deep shit!"

There was a third man in the room, a well-built man with a dark, yet fair skin tone, that looked strangely familiar. He wore a long white lab coat and glasses. His hair was long, but not too long. Currently, he was writing something down on a clipboard and typing something into a nearby laptop. When he turned and saw me back on my feet, he smiled and, passing the clipboard to his other hand, he shook my hand.

"Very well done. We've got all the information we need. I've just got to ask you a few questions. It's just a precaution. Are you ready?"

I nodded.

"Right," he said, "What's the date, today?"

"Erm…" I thought, "Monday, the… 17th? Of October, 2016."

"Good. Next question: What is your name?"

"Tom."

"Tom…?"

"Oh, Tom Grummett." I said, slightly embarrassed.

"Okay, and where are you?"

"Abstergo, Montreal, Quebec."

"Good, final question: do you have any headaches, nausea, anything like that?"

"I don't think so."

"Good. That's everything."

Again, he reached to shake my hand. Again, I shook it, only this time, I noticed something on his arm. A jet black tattoo. I couldn't make out the detail, but it looked like it went all the way up his arm it wrapped around his wrist and into the palm of his hand. From what I could see, it appeared to be scales of some kind. It was so familiar it was nagging me. And his face. His face was just teasing me like it was someone I should know, but I couldn't place it. Mentally, I shrugged as me and the other two participants headed to the elevator to go back to our hotel.


End file.
